A thief has been caught on camera breaking into an aviary and stealing two protected barn owls being bred for release into the wild.

Wearing an orange t-shirt that also covered his face, the man crawled through an opening at the top of the nesting site, before capturing the birds.

The owls are among five being bred in a hunters’ federation (FKNK) project at Buskett.

The FKNK said that the thief damaged the aviary in the process of the theft on Monday night.

The project, aimed at reintroducing barn owls to Malta and releasing them into the wild as soon as they can live and hunt independently, is now in its third and most important phase.

Barn owls disappeared from Malta in the 1980s. About half a dozen of them are being bred at Razzett tal-Bagħal, near Buskett, with plans to re-establish their population in the wild in the Maltese islands.

The stolen owls were among five being bred to be released into the wild. Photo: Jonathan Borg

The federation said that the damage was reported by the person who went to feed the owls on Tuesday morning.

A report was filed with the Rabat police. A CCTV clip showing the intruder entering the nesting place was also given to the police.

The FKNK appealed to anyone who may have any information to pass it on to the police.