Children from the Sannat Primary School took part in a release of turtle doves bred at the same school. 

The release was part of a broader breeding and release programme by the hunters' group FKNK, which said the project had led to the release of hundreds of turtle doves since it began in 2017. 

The FKNK said the programme was one of several aimed at the reintroduction of spring hunting of turtle doves in Malta, which has been banned since 2017 due to declining population numbers. 

More than 350 turtle doves were released in May as part of the same programme, with eight fitted with GPS trackers aimed at monitoring the birds' migration patterns. 

The company which supplied the trackers said most of the birds died within days of release, a claim the FKNK vehemently denied. 

The breeding programme in the Sannat school was sponsored by Gozo minister Clint Camilleri, who is also responsible for hunting, as well as the FKNK, which said it had plans to expand the programme both within the school and elsewhere in Malta and Gozo. 

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.