A Barn Owl (Barbaġann) that forms part of a reintroduction project managed by the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) was illegally shot over the past few days, ending up in the grounds of a school, BirdLife Malta said. 

The injured bird – with a gunshot injury to its right wing – was found at St Dorothy’s School in Żebbuġ and handed to BirdLife Malta on Monday. 

The bird has a ring on its left leg bearing the details “024-BORP”. The reading of the ring highlights the fact that it is from the FKNK’s project, with the letters BORP standing for “Barn Owl Reintroduction project” BirdLife said.

"This reintroduction project led by FKNK since 2018 is funded by the Government through the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU), and its objective is to re-establish the species that was exterminated by illegal hunting throughout the years. Various pairs of Barn Owl used to breed in Malta and Gozo regularly until the eighties" the ornithological group pointed out. 

The Barn Owls are bred and reared in captivity in a facility in Buskett before then being released back into the wild where it is hoped that they will then breed once again across the Maltese Islands. 

"Sadly for this particular bird, this opportunity was cut short due to illegal hunting which – as clearly llustrated by this incident – remains rampant and indiscriminatory, with hunters targeting anything that flies, especially during open hunting seasons such as the ongoing season that runs until the end of January 2024," BirdLife said.  

“This incident, which is just part of the tip of the iceberg of what happens with illegal hunting in Malta, reminds us how destructive hunting is and how backwards in time we have gone when even the efforts of the hunting lobby to greenwash hunters’  activities, gets stained red in blood literally by hunters themselves. This is a far cry from true conservation!” BirdLife Malta CEO Mark Sultana said.