Former FKNK council member in the dock over illegal finch trapping
Fourteen birds seized from David Briffa, court hears
Authorities seized 14 birds from former FKNK council member David Briffa after he was caught finch trapping out of season, a court heard on Wednesday.
The court was hearing evidence against David Briffa, who was sacked from the FKNK council after he was filmed trapping birds a day before the legal season opened.
The first witness, Cassie Xiberras Grech from the Wild Birds Registration Unit, confirmed in court that 14 birds, including Eurasian chaffinches and Hawfinches had been seized from David Briffa’s possession.
She confirmed that while Briffa held a general trapping licence, the incident happened a day before the hunting season opened.
Fiona Burrows, a wildlife crime officer with the environmental NGO Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), also testified.
She had been in the area on October 19, 2024 when she saw a man setting up a cage and two sets of nets on a trapping site.
She started filming this and eventually saw him entering a nearby hide.
She informed the police, who were busy at the time and said they would come by later. She left the area after this point.
Later, she found out that police went to the site and found someone actively trapping. They confiscated two nets and a number of caged finch decoys.
Sixteen years ago, Briffa, who was the FKNK’s assistant general secretary at the time, was fined €100 for attempted assault on CABS media officer Axel Hirschfeld and for swearing in public.
Inspector Eliott Magro is leading the prosecution. Briffa is being represented by lawyer Amadeus Cachia. Ishmael Psaila is defence lawyer.