"Malta is like Sicily was in the early 80s," Goldman Prize Winner, Anna Giordano

As BirdLife Malta's Raptor Camp comes to an end, 25 participants from eight countries, including Malta, gathered in the Buskett Bird Sanctuary to send a message to the authorities to increase efforts to curb illegal hunting. The conservationists held photos of some of the dead or injured birds delivered to BirdLife Malta during the last eight days.

The organisation received 17 shot protected birds, including one Grey Heron, five Marsh Harriers, five Honey Buzzards and a Lesser Kestrel [1]. In comparison, during the same period last year, the organisation received five shot protected birds. This represents more than a 300 per cent increase.

In the first 11 days Raptor Camp teams recorded a total of 398 shots after 1500 hours, in spite of a ban on hunting during that time. Over this period, Raptor Camp teams also witnessed a further 19 protected birds shot down but not recovered, including two Black Storks - a rare species of Conservation Concern in Europe.

The use of illegal electronic bird lures, and modified shotguns capable of firing more than the legal number of shots, were also recorded. The analysis of data gathered by the Raptor Camp teams is still ongoing and figures resulting from the two-weeks of monitoring will be released in a report in the coming months.

"Illegal hunting reports came from the majority of the locations we have covered during the camp and these locations have been situated all over the island. The situation is evidently getting worse. It's almost as if the poachers are taking revenge on migratory birds for being denied the opportunity for hunting last spring," said Geoffrey Saliba, Campaigns Co-ordinator for BirdLife Malta. Two of the birds, a Marsh Harrier and a Honey-buzzard, were found by Raptor Camp participants within the Buskett Bird Sanctuary, highlighting a worrying trend that poachers are now returning to areas where they had been successfully removed in the past.

Anna Giordano, Goldman Prize winner [1] for her efforts to stop illegal hunting in Sicily, joined the camp in Malta this year and expressed her disbelief at what she witnessed: "Malta is like Sicily was in the early 80s. It is unacceptable to witness the widespread killing of protected birds in this day and age."

"The turning point for us in Sicily was when the government stopped seeing this as an argument between two sides but as a national problem. There are international laws protecting these birds and Malta also has the obligation to abide by these laws," Giordano insisted.

Bob Elliot, Head of Investigations at the Scottish branch of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), joined the camp for the second year running. He also confirmed that, "The situation is much worse than last year."

"I saw a Lesser Kestrel flying past us one morning at Girgenti with obvious damage to its wing. It flew over a wall then we heard a shot and couldn't see the bird. When the police searched the area they found the bird but not the poacher. It was awful seeing the dead bird close up. There was also more hostility towards the camp participants this year - I was shocked at the abuse my Maltese and foreign colleagues have had to endure," Elliot said.

Despite the elevated levels of illegal hunting the camp was successful in reducing levels of poaching in areas where teams were operating. On the morning of September 25, Raptor Camp teams watched the safe departure of three Lesser Spotted Eagles that had roosted overnight in Buskett.

On September 26, intelligence gathered by the Raptor Camp teams led to the recovery of six live protected birds from an aviary where they had been kept illegally.

Over the last two weeks, six poachers were also apprehended from information passed on by Raptor Camp teams to the ALE. These included a hunter gunning down a Honey-buzzard at Tal-Virtu and five hunters hunting after the 15:00 ban. The organisation has reiterated its demand that fines for those caught hunting illegally must be increased and that licenses of repeat offenders should be cancelled. The setting up of a wildlife crime unit dedicated to preventing illegal hunting is a must in view of the current situation, the organisation said.

NOTES:

1. The Goldman Prize annually honours grassroots environmental heroes from the six inhabited continental regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The Prize recognizes individuals for sustained and significant efforts to protect and enhance the natural environment, often at great personal risk. Winner receives the largest award in the world for grassroots environmentalists. http://www.goldmanprize.org/node/105

2. The Lesser Kestrel is listed on the global International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Data list as Vulnerable. The IUCN supports governments, NGOs, United Nations agencies, companies and local communities develop and implement policy and law.