On Tuesday, Birdlife Malta issued a statement saying that they are pleased with the sentencing of the hunter who was caught killing four Greater Flamingos at Qawra Point in October last year. The hunter was sentenced to a one-year jail term, the confiscation of his shotgun, and a revocation of his hunting license for life.
In addition, he is permanently disqualified from holding any firearm license. This means that he will not be able to hunt or possess any firearms in the future. The sentence comes as a result of a birdwatcher witnessing the event and reporting it to the Malta Police. Birdlife Malta hopes that this case will serve as a deterrent to others who may be considering harming these protected animals.
On 2nd October 2021, an event occurred which led to the reinforcement of Birdlife Malta’s previous call for the government to designate Qawra Point as a no-hunting zone.
This event was the illegal hunting of multiple Flamingos, with video footage and eyewitnesses supporting the notion that this was not an isolated incident. Just a couple of days ago, a year after the event, Qawra Point was declared a protected nature reserve.
This is a step in the right direction, but Bird Life Malta believes that more needs to be done in order to prevent such events from happening in the future. They hope that making Qawra Point a no-hunting zone, it will send a message that such illegal activity will not be tolerated and will help to protect the local wildlife.