Maltese hunters kill chance of 190,000 chicks each spring

Update: Moira Delia has launched the SHout report on shocking effects of spring hunting, saying that “spring never comes for the hunted.”

According to a report launched today by TV presenter and animal activist Moira Delia and bird enthusiast and BirdLife Malta Trustee Mark Sultana for the Spring Hunting Out Campaign, Maltese hunters kill the chance of 190,000 chicks being born each spring.

Speaking at a press conference in Ghadira Nature Reserve, Moira Delia made a powerful speech about the cruel effects of spring hunting on wild birds. “190,000 eggs are not laid each year because Maltese hunters shoot their parents out of the sky. The lives lost are not just those of the birds killed, but also those stolen from the next generation. This is why spring never comes for the hunted.”

Mark Sultana said that the spring hunting season “acts as a cover for the targeting of rare and protected birds, with over 38 protected species of birds being illegally shot in Malta during the last four spring hunting seasons.” These include blue rock thrush, Malta’s national bird, and pallid harriers, Europe’s rarest bird of prey, he said.

Moira Delia added that “Countless protected birds are shot in Malta each year, and many are just left to die in agony in the countryside.”

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