Coordinates of trapping sites published by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) do not match the site plans of the same sites handed to trappers, leading to a situation where trappers have sometimes been stopped by the authorities, with their birds and equipment confiscated, the Federation for Hunters and Trappers (FKNK) said on Wednesday.

To add insult to injury, it said, BirdLife Malta had also published another list that was 'full of errors' and urged the public to report any trapping sites that were not on its flawed list!

"These anomalies saw many trappers having their birds and other equipment being confiscated and they were deprived of trapping during the peak of the season due to a circumstance in which they had no fault," the federation said.

It said it had submitted a detailed report to the authorities and was awaiting an explanation of how the discrepancies would be corrected.

It also demanded to know what would happen to the confiscated birds and equipment and what compensation would be offered where trappers were  not to blame for anything.

The federation said it viewed what had happened as nothing more than a manoeuvre against trapping intended to undermine the government's finches’ research programme.