BirdLife volunteer compares local bird shooting to 'scene from a warzone'

BirdLife Malta today questioned the ability of the government and the police to properly control and limit the spring hunting season in accordance with its derogation of the EU Birds Directive that allows spring hunting of turtles dove and quail. It said that it had witnessed widespread illegal hunting in the first week of the season and the number of hunters and amount of shooting was not compatible with a strictly enforced spring hunting season. BirdLife Malta Conservation Manager Nicholas Barbara said that volunteers monitoring migration as part of BirdLife Malta’s Spring Watch camp witnessed a “big push” of Turtle Doves migrating on Thursday morning. “Our teams in the countryside recorded in excess of 9000 shots in the space of just a few hours in the morning at eight different locations around Malta,” said Mr Barbara. Spring Watch camp participant, Marianne Leenders, who has been coming to Malta for Spring Watch and Raptor Camps since 2009, said that it was the worst morning she had ever experienced in all the camps she has volunteered at. “It was like a warzone. There were hunters everywhere and the shots were coming so fast from every direction it was like we were...