The FKNK hunters' federation has condemned attempts by unidentified poachers to shoot a protected Falcon.

In a statement, the federation referred to a statement yesterday by the BirdLife Malta that it feared that the Falcon had been gunned down and unreservedly condemned the attempt, especially as it appeared that this was concerted effort by more than one poacher.

"We augur that the fact that this incident was actually witnessed by 120 BirdLife Malta members will lead to the apprehension of the culprits, particularly if the registration number, size, colour and other details of the speedboat used were hopefully ‘captured’ by the binoculars and the cameras of so many BLM bird-watchers. We trust that BirdLife Malta is in a position to provide the required evidence of this and similar happenings to ensure successful court proceedings against the perpetrators," FKNK said.

The action of these poachers is contemptible, and we hope that the police will be successful in rooting them out, and in prosecuting them successfully in court.