The hunters' federation said Thursday it is investigating the shooting of a barn owl which it had bred in Buskett.

The incident was revealed two days ago by Birdlife, which said the bird was shot in one of its wings. It was handed to the ornithological society for treatment.

The FKNK said the Barn Owl Project it launched in 2017 had proved to be a huge success. The project sees barn owls bred in a facility in Buskett before being released in the wild to make up for declining numbers.

The FKNK described the shooting of the barn awl as an unfortunate and cowardly incident by a 'criminal' and said it had launched an investigation.

The owl was released into the wild in November 2022.

FKNK, Lucas Micallef said the federation condemned the shooting. "Our unwavering commitment to conservation projects remains a top priority," he was quoted as saying in an FKNK statement.

The federation said that following the necessary medical attention, the owl has been returned to the project’s housing facility which is adjacent to the FKNK managed 16th century farmhouse “Razzett tal-Bagħal” in Buskett, for future breeding purposes.   

In 2022, the project released 14 barn owls into the wild, two of which are GPS tagged. The FKNK set up three nest-boxes within Buskett which the released birds can use to re-establish the owls’ breeding in the wild.  In 2023 another 16 birds, bred and raised in captivity at the project’s aviaries were released. 

The project is partly financed by the Wild Birds Conservation Fund, plus the added FKNK funds input of some €60,000 so far, the federation said.