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BirdLife Malta is the RSPB’s partner in the Maltese islands and they run Raptor Camp. Raptor camp is a two week programme, which enables birdwatchers to observe and assess this illegal hunting at close quarters. According to Dr Andre Raine, BirdLife’s conservation manager, “this is the worst season that many local birdwatchers can remember in recent years”.
Malta is positioned directly under a major migration route between Europe and Africa and for the last two weeks the skies have been filled with potential targets for the illegal hunters. Among the birds of prey such as Honey Buzzards that are routinely blasted out of the sky, Grahame also recorded Black Stork, Heron and Bee-eater casualties. “On good days for migration, when several hundred birds of prey pass through, the hunters are stirred into a frenzy – desperate to shoot as many as possible, even protected ones”.
Illegal hunting has been a traditional problem on Malta but this year, there is evidence that the problem is getting worse. Raptor Camp discovered a Marsh Harrier and a Honey Buzzard that had been shot in Buskett Forest, a protected area. This reveals that poachers are now returning to areas that they had been successfully removed in the past.
Not only the birds are being threatened. The presence of Raptor Camp on Malta was deeply unpopular with the hunters and Grahame told that many members of the Camp were aggressively threatened by hunters. You only need to take a look at the last picture in the gallery above to get an idea of how BirdLife are perceived by the hunters.
The RSPB and BirdLife Malta have called on the Maltese government to take tougher action against illegal hunting. Geoffrey Saliba, campaign co-ordinator for BirdLife Malta, believes " the fines for those caught hunting illegally must be increased and the hunting licenses of repeat offenders must be cancelled. If the government is seroius about curbing illegal hunting, the police should be given the resources needed to counter the unacceptable level of poaching".