Massacre on Migration

Malta, home of year long sunshine, crystal waters and luxurious resorts, sounds like a beautiful place, however this little island situated in the Mediterranean Sea has a dirty secret. Which is no longer so much of a secret. Each year from the 12th April thousands of hunters equipped with shotguns make it their job to destroy the lives of thousands of birds making their way back home to mainland Europe. Malta is situated on the Central Mediterranean Flyway, which is one of the three highways for millions of migrating birds travelling back from Africa to Europe.

Legally Shot Turtle Dove

Most of the birds killed illegally in Malta are “protected” species and in 2013 up to 23 species of protected bird were shot, and killed. Many of the hunters use these birds as target practice and don’t even bother to collect the dead birds once hit, however Birdlife Malta volunteers collect injured birds and take them to a local vets practice in hope of them surviving and being released back into the wild. Unfortunately only a small number of the injured birds ever make it out of the vets alive, and those that do sometimes need long rehabilitation periods to be able to fly freely again.

Despite a petition of over 44,000 signatures of Maltese voters the government still allow the hunting seasons to continue, with an increase each year - of numbers of licences, amount of bag limit and the length of open season. The hunts in Malta are unique to anywhere else in the world and this is due to the density of hunters. During the open season in Malta there are an estimated 80 hunters per square kilometer this is the highest density of any hunt in the world. This hunt alone has drastic effects on the population of birds in Europe, with species such as the Turtle Dove’s numbers dropping by 95% since 1970 (in UK alone).

Who is Fighting?!

Chris Packham has been fighting for the lives of the birds flying through Malta for years now, with no victory in sight he decided to do something about it himself and is currently over in Malta recording a nightly diary to allow us the public to see what is happening to our birds on their travels back home for summer. For more information on Chris Packhams’ fight for our birds visit here

RSPB are also fighting the war against Malta’s hunters with Birdlife Malta by their side. RSPB have around 65,000 members living in Malta and have stated that they will everything within their reach to allow the birds safe passage across the island. For more information on RSPBs’ efforts visit here









Image courtesy of BBC

Each year for three weeks against EU directives Malta open season for recreational hunting during spring (the only country in Europe to do so). During these three weeks up to 10,500 trophy hunters will legally shoot Turtle Doves and Quail both of which are in danger themselves as numbers are declining in Europe. However under the cover of legal hunting many other species of bird will be attacked and illegally shot during this three-week massacre. Illegally shot bird species include: Cuckoos, Marsh and Pallid Harriers, Kestrels, Ospreys, Purple and Grey Herons, Bee-Eaters, Golden Orioles and Barn Swallows.