€8,000 record fine for illegal bird trapping; man has hunting, trapping licence revoked for life

A bird trapper from Gozo has been found guilty of illegal finch trapping close to San Lawrence during the closed season in spring 2015. He was today sentenced to pay 8.000 Euros and has his trapping permit and hunting licence revoked for life, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter said in a statement.

The case was reported to the police by a team of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) on 23 March 2015 after the volunteers observed and photographed the man operating an active clap net and an illegal electronic bird caller to attract finches to the trapping site. According to CABS the man is a repeat offender with at least one prior conviction related to illegal trapping of birds.

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CABS uncover widespread bird trapping: 5 men to be taken to court

BY GOZO NEWS · AUGUST 4, 2014

Persons unknown have turned an empty water reservoir at Ta´ Qali into a giant bird trap, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) said today.

Volunteers of CABS discovered the site Saturday afternoon when they followed the calls of an illegal bird caller imitating the songs of protected bird species. CABS said the search led to a deep basin covering an area of 40×20 metres.

On the bottom of the reservoir trappers had set up 5 vertical mist nets and several plastic bird decoys around a puddle of water. “The whole structure has been transformed into a massive underground trap which was exclusively designed to attract and catch protected birds out of the sight of the police”, CABS Wildlife Crime Officer Fiona Burrows reports.

ALE officers were alerted and climbed down into the 10 metre-deep basin to remove the nets and electronic bird caller. Investigations to reveal the identity of the poachers and the owner of the reservoir are ongoing, CABS said.

The find in Ta´ Qali is only one out of 10 illegal bird trapping sites which have been found by CABS and dismantled by the police in the last 8 days. “These installations pose a huge threat to birds, and often other wildlife such as hedgehogs and snakes become entangled and die,” Miss Burrows stated.

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CABS find ‘bird cemetery’ in Mizieb & Quail trapping site on Gozo

Published on Monday, 5, May, 2014 at 15:59 in Gozo News | No Comments

Volunteers of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) have found another ´bird cemetery´ in the Mizieb woodland, the organisation said today.

According to CABS the remains of a total of 10 protected birds – 5 Marsh Harriers, 1 Montagu´s Harrier, 1 Honey Buzzard, 1 Hoopoe, 1 Nightjar and a Cuckoo – have been found concealed underneath stones in the eastern part of the area last Thursday.

“The Nightjar and the Cuckoo definitely died during this year´s spring hunting season whereas the other birds appear to have been killed and hidden last autumn,” CABS Press Officer Axel Hirschfeld said.

“The police were called as soon as the first dead birds were uncovered. All carcasses have been seized as evidence. In contrast to the years 2009 and 2010 when birdwatchers found more than 270 dead protected birds in all parts of Mizieb the finds from last week were limited to a small section of the area close to Xemxija hill. “

CABS called on the authorities to conduct a comprehensive inquiry and publish the results as soon as possible. Axel Hirschfeld, “the public has a right to know what is going on in Mizieb which the FKNK claims to manage as a hunting reserve for its members.”

Despite several requests made to the authorities, the outcome of the investigations from 2009 and 2010 have never been published. “If the new government really means business they should not repeat this mistake and move towards total transparancy,” CABS General Secretary Alexander Heyd declared.

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