Two men were yesterday fined and had their hunting and trapping licences suspended after being caught illegally hunting finches in the spring.

A bird trapper was fined €2,400 and lost his hunting and trapping licence for three years. The hunter had trapped finches at the Majistral nature and history park.

A second man, from Żurrieq, was ordered to pay €1,200 and also had both his licenses suspended for two years. He was caught illegally finch trapping last spring.

Both cases had been reported to the police by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, CABS, which had also provided the court with video evidence of the two men illegally trapping finches.

On Monday, a Gozitan man was issued with a record fine of €8,000 after being found guilty of illegal trapping in the spring. He had his trapping permit and licence revoked for life.

Volunteers had photographed him operating an active clap net and an illegal electronic bird caller. CABS said he was a repeat offender.

In 2009, finch trapping was phased out in line with Malta’s EU accession treaty but was reintroduced by the government last year.