Antonia Devereux explains the issue of illegal hunting in Malta, and her experience working with BirdLife Malta to prevent wildlife crime during the peak Autumn migratory season.
Credit: Antonia Devereux
WARNING: This article contains images of injured birds which may be upsetting to some viewers.
This September I travelled to Malta to take part in BirdLife Malta’s Raptor Camp, a long-standing volunteer programme designed to prevent wildlife crime in Malta during the peak season of bird migration. After a week of very early mornings and far too many riffles, my eyes were opened to an issue I seldom knew of before. Illegal poaching in the country is rife, and is unfortunately not unique to the region, with the problem widespread across the Mediterranean. Despite its barbaric nature, a host of political and cultural factors are at play, meaning there is little resource to prevent illegal acts. The BirdLife Malta team hosts bi-yearly camps to help protect vulnerable and endangered birds, so that as many as possible make it off the island.
Hunting in Malta
Over 170 species of bird rely on the Maltese Islands during the autumn and spring migratory season. On the central route of Europe-African migratory flyway, the islands provide a much needed resting place for the birds to rest, and replenish their fat stores before continuing their migration. Amongst these species are many of the most vulnerable and protected birds, but instead of finding a safe haven on their long and perilous journey, they are met with, what I began to call, ‘Death Island’.
The Autumn hunting season runs between the 1st of September and the 31st of January, allowing the legal hunting of 40 species from land and a further 12 species at sea. There are numerous additional rules within this, including distancing rules from areas such as beaches and residential areas, as well as species specific amendments. One example is the endangered European Turtle-dove. For these birds, the autumn hunting season is shorter, so only runs through September, and has a bag (kill) limit of 500. These rules are often changing depending on the political landscape. With over 10,000 licensed hunters in Malta, any political move against hunting regulations can cause heavy blows to votes.
Cans on a line of string through the trees, used by Hunters to scare birds to shoot. Credit: Antonia Devereux
The European Turtle-dove continues to highlight the power hunters have over the government, and their general disregard for the conservation and protection of birds. In 2017 after heavy pressure from the European Commission, Malta introduced a temporary ban on turtle-dove hunting in the spring, as the species continued to see serious decline. The Federation for Hunting and Conservation in partnership with the hunting advisory committee lobbied against this, and in March 2022, the spring hunting season was reinstated with a bag limit of 1500 birds. The timing was uncanny, with the Maltese general election held at the end of that same month.
There are two stand out issues with this policy, with the first being that the bag limit is most definitely succeeded in each season. Hunters are required to register their kills from hunting and trapping, but in 2020 only 292 hunters (2.7% of overall licensed hunters) participated in the registering system. Action from the government and policing bodies is minimal. Secondly, the spring season is when the majority of breeding birds migrate, meaning that having a higher bag count in spring than autumn knocks out more of the strongest, breeding birds, putting further pressure on the Turtle Doves.
Injured purple heron, upper wing break, euthanised. Credit: Rich, BirdLife volunteer.
It is illegal for hunters to shoot down any birds of prey, as well as larger protected birds such as herons, greater flamingos and storks at all times of the year. Saying the ‘S word’ was banned during my time with BirdLife Malta, as they rarely make it out alive if they do arrive on the island, and require constant supervision from the team. Malta is the only country in Europe and the Mediterranean with no regular breeding birds of prey after species including the Barn Owl went locally extinct, highlighting the disregard for the law. There is an Environmental Protection Unit in Malta, but the team has limited resources and the best committed officers are known to be ‘moved on’ to other sections within the police. BirdLife Malta works not only to protect birds but also provide support to this unit, calling them out whenever a hunter is seen/filmed committing an illegal act.
Trapping is also a large issue in Malta and the wider Mediterranean, and most often illegal. Trapping is used on a variety of bird species in Malta, including finches. By using live caged birds, decoys, or illegal electronic callers, flocks are attracted into the trapping area. The wild birds land on a large section of netting, which then springs upwards and captures the birds on the surface. As with hunting, there are many loopholes in the law when it comes to trapping, as well as constant changes in policy, meaning illegalities often go unpunished.
A trapping sight in Malta. Credit: Antonia Devereux
The most commonly asked question is why? Some birds are killed for food, but more impressive, rare species are used for taxidermy purposes. The more rare birds you have stuffed in your home the better you are, which of course makes perfect sense… right? Some of the more established hunters might also sell rare birds to the highest bidder.
Many Maltese people see hunting as a cultural aspect of their lives, and it is important to remember that not all hunters commit illegal acts. BirdLife Malta isn’t formally against hunting altogether, but is against the illegal hunting and persecution of vulnerable, protected, or engaged species.
My Time At BirdLife Malta
The camp consisted of 5am starts and out until breakfast around 8-9am. We had a break in the afternoon (which was mostly spent napping), and then met up for a team meeting to catch up on the latest shifts, before heading out for the evening shift 3:30-8pm. If an especially vulnerable bird arrives on the island, the camp would be out all day to attempt to help it leave the island safely. Although the schedule was tiring, I did get used to it.
Maltese Sunset on evening shift. Credit: Antonia Devereux
During my time I think I saw pretty much all of Malta – we went all over the place, including up many steep hills in horrendous hire cars (thankfully I wasn’t driving). We went on a day trip to Mdina, the old Capital of Malta and had a very nice cake, before it was cut short by an injured bird that needed a search and rescue mission. The general aim was to spread the team around the most notorious hunting areas and locations of birds if we had any information on where they were known to be. If you saw a raptor, you would immediately film it until it went out of sight in case it was shot at. If an incident occurred, this video evidence can then be used to submit to the authorities, in hopes of getting the hunter prosecuted, which can result in heavy fines, their hunting licence being revoked, and potential imprisonment. As you can imagine, the hunters aren’t too happy about us being around – I received my fair share of middle fingers and dirty looks, and even managed to end up in a car chase with some serious Bond-level moves from my fellow team member.
Unfortunately, there were a number of injured birds during my time at the camp, many of which were fatal. I witnessed the lethal shooting of a Common Kestrel, but we managed to film the hunter fleeing the scene after spotting us. The Environmental Protection Unit was called and the officers found the bird on the land, so it is likely that the hunter will be prosecuted. On another busy day, two lesser flamingos flew into the island. After originally landing in a nature reserve, they then flew into a well-known hunting area and decided to stick around, kickstarting a constant watch and film process. After sunset, we were forced to leave after the hunters on the land became increasingly agitated, and are known for being aggressive. The next morning, one flamingo was reported to be seen, but the status of the second was unknown.
Injured honey buzzard with minor wing break and shot pellets in left leg. Credit: Rich, BirdLife volunteer.
Despite the difficulty, there was happy news while I was in Malta. An infamous hunting point, Qawra Point, which saw the massacre of 4 flamingos in 2021, was made a nature reserve, and the hunter was sentenced to one year imprisonment and a lifelong hunting ban. The team also managed to get a number of birds to successful rehabilitation, and on my last day I saw the release of a honey buzzard – it was a really incredible experience and a perfect way to end the week. The highlight of my time there though has to be all the people I got to work with, and I am grateful for all the lovely connections I made during my stay.
If you are interested in the work that BirdLife Malta does, you can check out their website here to learn more. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you at the next Raptor Camp!
Honey Buzzard release. Credit: Antonia Devereux
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