A project to reintroduce barn owls to Malta has entered its second phase, which will see them released into the wild as soon as they can live and hunt independently.

The barn owl went extinct from Malta in the 1980s. About half a dozen of them are being bred at Razzett tal-Bagħal, near Buskett, with plans to re-establish their population in the wild in the Maltese islands.

The project is run by hunting lobby FKNK. Its president, Joe Perici Calascone, said it deserved recognition “as it is as much of a part of who we are as an organisation as the side in which we kill for sport”.

So far, the owls have kept in specialised rooms to keep their interaction with humans minimal and are hunting rodents there.

The second phase of the five-year-old project was announced by Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia yesterday.

The same project is also encouraging the growth of indigenous trees and this has been expanded.

The nursery is also on the Razzett tal-Bagħal site, just off the trail that leads into Buskett woodlands. 

Some 2,500 seeds are now going to be planted in 800 square metres of re-usable pots in collaboration with the Saġġar initiative, which aims to plant a million trees across the island. 

The trees are to be distributed to the public in an effort to spread indigenous species.

They include aleppo pines and carob trees as well as the rare Fulu tal-Kelb, which has not been seen anywhere except for the Salib tal-Għolja area. 

Close up shot of the Steppe Eagle in Razzett il-Bagħal. Photo: Julian Delia

A rare Steppe Eagle is also held on site.

The Malta Falconers' Club had asked the FKNK to help them house and feed the massive, six-foot wingspan eagle after it was seized from its illicit owner and had nowhere to roam and hunt in the area.

“This bird is the only one of its kind in Malta – we have to keep it here because it was imported illegally,” FKNK's spokesman Lucas Micallef said.