Hunters shoot 13 flamingos at sea

Thirteen flamingos were shot from a yellow speedboat in the Gozo channel on Wednesday evening, police sources said yesterday.

A flock of about 50 flamingos in V formation was seen flying across the channel sometime after 6 p.m. when a yellow speedboat left Mgarr harbour. Three hunters on the boat fired a volley of shots at the birds, bringing down 13 of them.

Only eight of the downed birds were collected. The police on Comino found an injured flamingo yesterday morning and the bird, which had a broken wing, was passed on to BirdLife Malta in the hope it could be nursed back to health. But when BirdLife Malta members took it to a vet it was decided to put the bird down as its wing was too badly broken and there was no hope it could heal properly.

The police are investigating the shooting.

Sources said it was clear the hunters who killed the flamingos took a very calculated risk because it was the time when officers of the army maritime squadron and the police would be changing shifts. Thus, it was unlikely there would be any boats on patrol.

The sea was also a bit rough, making it more difficult for the police to take their boats out.

Reports of illegal hunting have been pouring in, even before the start of the hunting season. Storks, herons, birds of prey and colourful birds such as bee-eaters and hoopoes have been reported shot over the past three weeks.

Birdwatchers argue that enforcement is a key factor, saying that when they raise the alarm the police either take long to arrive or say they have been assigned to other duties.

A bird watcher from Gozo said he called the police on September 7 to report two hunters who had just shot two honey buzzards that had settled on a tree in Ramla Valley, only to be told there was no one available as all the officers available were deployed at the feast in Xaghra.

Another three honey buzzards were shot from Xaghra on September 9 and the police arrived in the area only half an hour later. The photo in Wednesday's edition of The Times of a wounded kingfisher, found at Ghadira by Birdlife members on Monday, caused quite a stir in Belgium as the Belgians have just voted the kingfisher the bird of the year.

Jan Rodts, the chairman of the Flemish section of the Belgian Bird Protection group, said the choice was made following an annual film festival featuring natural subjects.

Commenting on the shooting of the flamingos, Mr Rodts said it was unbelievable that hunters were still shooting protected species even at a time when they knew their actions were being scrutinised. "It just shows they cannot be trusted by being allowed to hunt only turtle doves and quail in spring ," he said.

The European Bird Network (EBN), which embraces bird protection organisations in Europe, reported that a Maltese citizen was arrested by airport Customs officers in Sofia airport last Sunday after skins of red breasted goose, long legged buzzard, lesser spotted eagle, goshawk, great white egret and raven were found in his suitcases.

"All these species are protected according to Bulgarian law. It is forbidden to own, carry, transport or export protected species and their parts without special permission from the Ministry of the Environment. The Maltese citizen will be fined according the Bulgarian law for breaking the Biodiversity Act and Customs legislation," EBN said.