Man caught with 2,700 protected birds before boarding Sicily-Malta ferry
The protected species were worth an estimated €400,000
Updated 3.35pm
A Maltese man has been caught by Sicilian authorities attempting to smuggle almost 2,700 protected birds worth an estimated €400,000 into Malta.
The suspect, identified as a Maltese man by Sicilian media outlets, was caught by port authorities in Pozzallo while attempting to board the ferry from Sicily to Malta.
Sicilian authorities discovered a total of 2,687 birds, including goldfinches, greenfinches and chaffinches, which were being transported inside a refrigerated container in cages hidden inside cardboard boxes.
Radio Una Voce Vicina on Thursday said the birds were being transported in “precarious hygienic-sanitary conditions with risks to public health,” at –2 degrees Celsius to reduce their vital functions and better hide their presence.
Vets in Sicily estimated the young age of the birds and their “poor transport conditions” had reduced their lifespan to around two months, the outlet reported.
A video posted to social media by Sicilian authorities shows the birds being released back into the wild in the Pantano Cuba-Longarini nature reserve in Granelli, east of Pozzallo.
The Maltese man was accused of theft, receiving stolen goods, abandonment of animals and the killing, destruction, capture, collection and possession of protected species.
In a statement hailing the bust, BirdLife Malta pointed out that on July 17 the Wild Birds Regulation Unit had announced it would be receiving applications for a derogation to research finches by trappers, a practice "declared illegal" by a European Court of Justice ruling in September 2024.
BirdLife claimed this derogation is often "exploited by trappers in Malta to disguise continued illegal trapping of finches".
“The continued hope given to trappers by the government that trapping will continue as before – despite two European Court of Justice rulings declaring it illegal – directly fuels the illegal trade of protected finches between the two islands," BirdLife said on Thursday.
Nicholas Barbara, head of conservation at BirdLife, explained the finches are illegally trapped in Sicily, smuggled into Malta and sold to trappers "from garages and markets" to be used as live decoys to trap other finches during the autumn migratory period.
They appealed to anyone witnessing the sale or trade of such birds to contact BirdLife or the police with information.
This is not the first time Sicilian authorities have apprehended someone trying to smuggle protected birds into Malta; in 2021, a Maltese man was arrested after he was caught trying to smuggle 1,000 protected songbirds to Malta.
And in May, six Maltese hunters were caught in unauthorised possession of game meat, shotguns and ammunition while waiting to board the ferry in Sicily.
Meanwhile, further afield, five Maltese poachers were arrested in Kyrgyzstan in April after they were discovered trying to smuggle dozens of protected birds out of the Central Asian country.
The finch trapping season, ostensibly undertaken for research purposes, is due to start in October. The practice has landed the country in hot water with the EU Court of Justice, however, which in September last year ruled it illegal.
“The finches project does not establish a genuine research purpose and hence cannot be considered as being justified” the European Court of Justice said at the time of the ruling.