BirdLife Malta highlights latest episodes of illegal hunting

With the first signs of turtle-dove migration over Malta this spring, reports by the public started coming in regarding illegal hunting of this protected bird all over the Maltese Islands, BirdLife Malta has said.

“Less than a week from the start of the spring hunting season 2021, BirdLife Malta was yesterday inundated with calls from the general public about rampant illegal hunting. Some stated they witnessed protected birds including European Turtle-doves being shot down, with an incident in Għasri, Gozo making the rounds on social media.”

BirdLife Malta said that the NGO’s teams documented at least two incidents of hunters shooting down protected turtledoves and reported these to the police.

“On the same day we also received a protected Common Cuckoo with gunshot injuries. While there was never a doubt that the spring hunting derogation for Common Quail during the peak migration of turtle-dove was an intentional smokescreen, the incidents of illegal hunting witnessed with the first signs of turtle-dove migration mean that the European Commission will not have much choice but to proceed with the legal infringements against this derogation.”

“We will be documenting all these incidents to submit a report to the European Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius for further action. We thank the general public for their care and support in reporting these incidents and urge everyone to document any illegal hunting they witness and to immediately report these to police (Environmental Protection Unit, EPU) on 119 and to BirdLife Malta on 7925 5697.”