A tourist said she was threatened with a gun by a hunter while on holiday in Gozo last week.

Ebeli Pirso from Estonia was left “terrified” and said she “feared for my life” after the man started waving his gun at her during a tense confrontation in Nadur.

The 54-year-old teacher had travelled to Gozo for a relaxing family getaway in late October when she began to hear regular sounds of gunshots from her accommodation.

“The constant shooting next to us was like there was a war going on,” she said. 

“We found it difficult to understand why such cruel practices for entertainment would be allowed in an EU country.”

On her final morning, November 2, she said she set out for a quiet walk in a nearby valley when she came across small cages holding what she believed were thrushes.

“The birds were frantically hitting the walls of their cages in fear,” she recalled, describing the scene as “horrifying”. 

She said the situation escalated when a Gozitan man, around her age and carrying a gun, approached her.

We found it difficult to understand why such cruel practices for entertainment would be allowed in an EU country

Pirso said he began shouting at her, accusing her of trespassing on private property and threatening to call the police. She said there were no signs indicating the area was private or dangerous and stood her ground, telling the man he could call the police.

“I also told him that I think what he was doing, torturing and killing animals for fun, was very bad,” she said.

That was when the man became agitated and waved his gun at her, she said.

“I was terrified,” she recalls. “I wanted to open those cages with those poor birds so badly but I felt scared for my life.”

Once back in Estonia, Pirso contacted the police and BirdLife.

“I would never have mentioned anything while I was in Malta. I was worried for my and my children’s safety,” she said.

Pirso, a vegetarian and strong believer in animal rights, said she was dismayed over Malta’s hunting practices.

“I cannot understand how people think torturing animals is their human right,” she said.

Autumn hunting season began on September 1 and runs until the end of the season, when 40 species of birds can be legally hunted.

Pirso hopes that sharing her experience will bring attention to what she described as the “torture of animals for fun” in Gozo and encourage the local authorities to ensure the safety of residents and tourists.

Questions have been sent to the police.