A total of 12 short-toed eagles were shot in Gozo on Thursday, with just one bird believed to have survived, BirdLife Malta said.
All 12 were spotted with gunshot injuries and following roosting on Thursday evening, none of them bar one was seen on Friday.
One of the protected short-toed eagles was shot down was found bloodied and grounded by tourists in the Marsalforn area.
Tourists who discovered the bird alerted Birdlife, whose members rescued the raptor and will be handing it to the government veterinarian.
According to Birdlife, 166 protected species were injured or killed this year, the highest number in eight years.
At a press conference at the Birdlife headquarters in Ta' Xbiex, CEO Mark Sultana said the incidents were a direct result of the government’s lax attitude towards the environment.
He heavily criticised Robert Abela’s administration for rewarding an organisation of repeated rule-breakers with a massive tract of public land in Miżieb and Ahrax.
“There has never been a government that kept the protection of the environment at such a low priority, and this is at a moment when the government, with its electoral majority, could easily be taking courageous decisions based in progressive politics in favour of the environment,” Sultana said.
“The enforcement of the law has been reduced significantly with the police and enforcement officials incapable of stopping the manic killing of protected and endangered birds.”
Sultana said the fact that the Wild Birds Regulation Unit is run by hunters and is coordinated by Minister Clint Camilleri, who is himself a hunter, confirms that the government's approach to environmental regulation is motivated by electoral gain.
Asked whether the group was concerned about public access to Miżieb, Sultana said Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg lied when he said nothing would be changing.
“The claim hunters have to Miżieb is not legally binding and on occasion, when members of the public, as well as BirdLife officials, have been taken to court for accessing the land, the court has repeatedly ruled that the public has a right to access Miżieb,” he said.
“The minute they sign the agreement on Sunday, this will no longer be the case.”
Birdlife is encouraging the public to join them in a public gathering in Miżieb at 4pm on Sunday.