Stop Illegal Bird Hunting in Malta
The problem
Every spring and autumn, rare and protected birds including ospreys, marsh harriers, cranes, flamingos, cuckoos and even swallows
are shot out of the sky in Malta. Some
are destined for private stuffed bird collections, but many are simply shot for
fun and suffer a slow, agonising death in the Maltese countryside.
Malta is a tiny group of islands in the Mediterranean Sea
between Sicily and Libya. Countless
birds fly over the islands in spring and autumn on their long journeys between
Africa and Europe. Malta is an obvious
place for exhausted birds to rest as they make these dangerous journeys. But 10,000 hunters are waiting for them, the largest concentration of hunters
anywhere else in the world. Shooting protected birds is illegal here, but that doesn't deter everyone. Countless birds never complete their journey because they are shot and killed in
Malta.
BirdLife Malta has been working for many years to stop
this senseless killing of rare and protected birds. Every spring and autumn teams of volunteers
go out in to the Maltese countryside to try to stop the illegal killing. Some of them have been physically assaulted,
others have been verbally abused, but they bravely record illegal hunting and
bring it to the attention of the police.
Organising the volunteers and ensuring we have the right
equipment to gather the evidence of illegal killing of birds is very
expensive. We need suitable vehicles
that can get us out in to the Maltese countryside so we can make sure hunters
have nowhere to hide. We need modern
video and other surveillance equipment so we can record the illegal hunting,
gather evidence and ensure illegal hunters are brought to justice. We need to train our volunteers and small
team of dedicated staff in how to gather evidence of illegal hunting and ensure
their own safety. Sometime we need to
pay for security guards to protect our people when some hunters get aggressive.
We estimate we need €50,000 to undertake this work for
the next year in Malta and about €100,000 to ensure we can do it for the next
two years.
The more funds that we raise means the more volunteers
can join us to help with this important work and the more equipment we have to
gather evidence to give to the police to ensure the criminal hunters are
brought to justice.
The Impact
Many of the birds shot by hunters in Malta are being
protected by conservation projects in the rest of Europe. For example, a large group of white storks
visited Malta in October 2014 on their journey between Europe and Africa. Many of them were illegally shot by
hunters. We discovered that many of
these white storks were part of a conservation project to reintroduce them to a part
of Italy.
Similarly, in September 2013 an osprey was satellite
tracked flying on its long journey between Corsica and Africa. It had been released on Corsica as part of a
project to reintroduce it to the island. The satellite track showed how it
successfully crossed over Sardinia and Sicily, but the tracking abruptly ended
one morning in the south of Malta in a notorious area for illegal hunting.
Similar tragedies have happened to groups of flamingos,
short-toed eagles, marsh harriers, honey buzzards and cranes. Even swallows and cuckoos are targeted.
Why should some Maltese hunters be able to kill birds that
millions of Euros has been invested in their conservation in the rest of
Europe? Stopping the illegal hunting of birds in Malta will help ensure these
birds survive and breed and that we can all enjoy the miracle of birds flying
between the continents each spring and autumn.
Making a Difference
BirdLife Malta has been working on this problem for many
years. As a result of our work, dozens
of illegal hunters have been prosecuted and brought to justice. Some have paid very heavy fines and had their
hunting licenses removed. Other have
been given prison sentences. We know this work can be successful if we have
enough volunteers and trained staff to catch them.
Countless birds have also been saved by our volunteers
being visible in the Maltese countryside.
Knowing there are people watching you is an important deterrent and we
know it stops hunters shooting at protected and rare birds.
Other birds have been brought to us and nursed back to
health and released back in to the wild.
The Risks are Worth the Results
This work is dangerous and risky. Some volunteers have been physically
assaulted, while others have been verbally abused. Some of our staff have been shot at and
sustained shotgun injuries, others have had their cars or houses set on fire.
However, we are determined not to allow this bullying to stop us from saving
birds and catching illegal hunters.
The police and politicians do not always take illegal
bird killing seriously. Sometimes they
do not answer our calls or accept our evidence.
They even refuse to take people to court when there is overwhelming
evidence of the criminal killing of birds.
We have learned to work with the police to bring people to justice and
involve the media when the authorities are not doing their job.
Other Ways You Can Help
You can also help by applying to become a volunteer. We organise Springwatch and Raptor Camp every
spring and autumn for volunteers to join us in trying to stop rare and
protected birds from a being shot and catching the criminals who want to shot
at them.
It is challenging and exhausting work, but incredibly
rewarding.
Please help us by making donation and share this campaign
through Facebook, Twitter and among your friends. Together we can stop illegal bird hunting in
Malta.