Around 300 wild finches, possibly smuggled from Italy, were confiscated from a property in Gozo.

The raid was carried out by the police assisted by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU).

Birdlife said the birds were possibly smuggled into Malta from Italy and intended as live decoys for illegal bird trapping. They were destined to be sold among local trappers and from different pet shops.

The confiscated birds included European serins, European goldfinches, European greenfinches, common linnets and common chaffinches.

Most were juvenile birds, kept in very poor conditions and crammed in tiny cages, Birdlife said.

It said all birds were handed over to it for rehabilitation, ringing and released following clearance and treatment by vets. 

The organisation noted that the bust followed an invitation to trappers from the WBRU itself to apply for another season under the so-called “research derogation” on finches.

This, Birdlife said, had already proven to be a smokescreen to the continued illegal trapping of wild finches, and is the subject of an infringement procedure initiated by the European Commission against Malta.

The ORNIS committee is expected to formally decide on this year's derogation on October 13.

Birdlife said that trapping of such wild birds creates a huge demand for live decoy birds and illegal smugglers in networks between Italy and Malta oblige to the demand created by the derogation itself.