In a bold operation, police and wildlife activists from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) have apprehended seven illegal bird trappers across Malta, including one suspect caught operating a trapping site just 100 meters from the Prime Minister’s official residence at Girgenti Palace.
CABS condemned the government’s decision to open a finch trapping season, accusing it of violating EU law to gain votes. CABS President Karl-Heinz Kreutzer criticized Prime Minister Robert Abela’s administration, stating, “The government continues to shield poachers and trappers to secure votes, disregarding EU regulations and science.”
He further called out Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri for promoting a trapping program under the guise of research, dismissing it as a “pseudo-science project.” CABS also revealed that some trappers set up their nets even before the season was officially announced.
Over the past two weeks, CABS, in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU), seized 12 sets of illegal nets and rescued 57 live birds, including protected species like Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, and Robins. The operation near Girgenti Bird Sanctuary led to the confiscation of the poacher’s equipment and birds.
The suspect now faces charges for illegal trapping during the closed season and poaching in a designated sanctuary where all hunting is banned.
Newsroom
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