Tracked bird goes silent over Miżieb as spring hunting casualties emerge
BirdLife Malta says at least 14 birds, including protected species, were found with shotgun injuries
A common kestrel that was shot in October and released back into the wild in February after months of rehabilitation is among the casualties of this year's spring hunting season.
The kestrel, which was being tracked, had been wintering in Miżieb, raising hopes it could remain in Malta to breed.
Its tracking device went silent over Miżieb on April 22, despite the authorities and hunting federation officials having been alerted to the presence of a tracked bird in the area.
Birdlife Malta said on Saturday that at least 14 birds were recovered with confirmed shotgun injuries during this year’s spring hunting season, including several protected species.
Apart from the common kestrel, a marsh harrier, bee-eater, cuckoo, hoopoe, wood sandpiper, little egret, spotted crake and corncrake were also counted among the casualties. A turtle dove was also shot illegally before the season opened for that species, Birdlife said.
Two other shot birds, another common kestrel and a common cuckoo, had recently been found by walkers in Miżieb, an afforested area associated with hunting activity, it added.
This year’s spring hunting season opened for quail on April 13 and for turtle dove on April 20, with both seasons running until May 3. Hunting was permitted from two hours before sunrise until noon, with national quotas set at 2,400 quail and 1,500 turtle doves.
The Wild Birds Regulation Unit, which is responsible for compiling data concerning hunting, has not yet published data about the concluded spring hunting season.
BirdLife said incidents of illegal hunting increased during the final week and a half of the season, after what it described as a slow start to spring migration.
The NGO said the documented cases were “only indicative” of the scale of illegal killing, arguing that enforcement during spring hunting seasons remained insufficient. It also criticised legal and regulatory loopholes that it said allowed protected migratory birds to be collected for private taxidermy purposes.
BirdLife said the killings were taking place while Malta continued to apply a derogation from the EU Birds Directive, despite an ongoing infringement procedure.
The spring season had been criticised by BirdLife before it opened, with the NGO arguing that a downward trend in the turtle dove population should have led to the season being cancelled under the precautionary principle.