by David Lindsay

In the eight days during which the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) observed migratory movements and hunting practices in Malta, it was not only physically and verbally threatened by hunters but also witnessed the wholesale and illegal slaughter of migrating birds of prey.

Moreover, the group has also compiled a map of Malta listing some 145, out of an estimated 300, illegal electronic bird lures, which it will be handing over to the police for investigation.

Issuing the final results of its stay in Malta yesterday morning, CABS also showed footage of an extremely rare Booted Eagle being shot down over Dwejra Lines on Friday morning.

Yesterday, the organisation witnessed the downing of a Hobby Falcon, as well as the large scale shooting at large numbers of protected birds of prey.

"This blatant and arrogant disregard of the law must not be ignored by those responsible," commented CABS president Heinz Schwarze, who called on the government yesterday to close the autumn hunting season immediately in light of such transgressions.

Volunteers also described how hunters had physically threatened them on a number of occasions. One volunteer recounted how a team of birdwatchers had been threatened by a hunter with a shotgun pointing at a volunteer's abdomen from a distance of just 10 centimetres.

Just yesterday morning, the team who spotted the downing of the Booted Eagle reported it had its car tyres slashed after the car was left in a position near the observation post they have been occupying over recent days.

In other altercations with hunters over the past eight days, teams report they have suffered stone throwing, verbal abuse, indecent exposure to both male and female members and, in more extreme cases, they have been directly threatened with weapons.

Verbal abuse has also been menacing, with German and non-German volunteers recoiling at shouts of "Nazis go home" and "foreigners out of our country".

Speaking yesterday, Mr Schwarze highlighted that such occurrences escalated dramatically following an inflammatory press conference held by the FKNK on Monday - in line with similar reports from BirdLife Malta, which is holding a parallel raptor camp.

"The overall situation has been aggravated by the inflammatory comments made by FKNK president Lino Farrugia at his recent press conference," Mr Schwarze commented yesterday. "Following the statements he made we noticed a sharp increase in aggressive behaviour by the hunters towards our members. These bullying tactics have only served to discredit the motives and reputation of the FKNK."

The CABS team, in addition to other numerous infractions of hunting regulations, witnessed and recorded the shooting down of six birds of prey and 12 other instances in which birds of prey were shot at but evaded hunters' shots.

CABS filed official complaints against both known and unknown persons with the authorities in all cases. The teams also reported instances of shooting after the afternoon curfew that was put in force on 15 September, a widespread use of electronic bird lures and the use of powerful searchlights for night hunting.

"Only four per cent of the Maltese population are hunters," Mr Schwarze added. "It is therefore even more unbelievable and frightening that this minority is capable of inflicting such immense damage on Malta's image abroad."

The group commended the efforts of the Administrative Law Enforcement unit, but also observed the unit is sorely understaffed and as such called for "a substantial increase in officers on the ground as soon as possible".

The committee stated that the pursuit of huntable species - turtledove and quail - is "at best non-selective and at worst only an alibi to shoot everything that flies". CABS also observed that the correlation of raptors arriving in the evening and the number of shots heard fired in the morning is "patently clear" - and as such called on the government to close the autumn hunting season with immediate effect.

Earlier this week, two CABS team members were struck by stray pellets when a hunter took aim at a passing quail in an incident the police are investigating as an accident. While concurring that the shooting appeared to have been accidental, CABS volunteers remarked they were fortunate they had only been struck in the forearm as opposed to the face or eyes. CABS members remarked they were surprised the hunter in question had not been charged with, at least, negligence.

Asked how their experience compares to other similar experiences in other EU countries, such as Italy where they have been active for the last 20 years, CABS members remarked the density of hunters and trappers in Malta was not to be seen anywhere else in Europe.

The illegal use of electron lures was also found to be rampant across Malta. Such devices, they said, are cleverly hidden in walls, bushes and concrete blocks throughout the countryside and are activated by timers or remote control. The group has produced a map of Malta listing the locations of 145 such devices, which will be handed over to the authorities. The concentration of such devices was the highest around the national stadium, Dingli Cliffs, Bahrija and the whole of Malta's western coast.

As for allegations that CABS teams had trespassed on private property, CABS said its teams had been fully briefed on Maltese legislation as well as on where the law stood on private property. This week, clearly marked private property and RTO signs have been sprouting up across the countryside, CABS added.

The rules, CABS said, had always been respected even though they "would have liked to have been more aggressive". The parameters of private property, they added, were not always clearly marked and that when they had stepped onto private land it had been a question of just a couple paces, which were retraced as soon as the intrusion was noticed.

Replying to the FKNK charge that CABS were "mercenaries" and "extremists", Mr Schwarze said, "Each team has been trained in local legislation and they do not provoke hunters. Most have worked as biologists and are veterans of other European campaigns such as those in Italy."

CABS is to prepare a dossier of its findings, which it will hand over to the ALE, Maltese politicians as well as the European Commission.

The group said yesterday it would return to Malta for a longer stay and with more volunteers during the spring hunting season and that it would continue its actions in Malta "until hunting stops".