Bird trappers convicted in Malta: Victory against poaching
Last week, the court in Valletta handed down an important ruling in the fight against illegal bird trapping: A bird trapper from Mgarr was fined 2,000 euros for trapping finches during the closed season in September 2022, and was also banned from trapping for three years.
The Campaign Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), whose employees appeared as witnesses, expressly welcomed the conviction and praised the police for their consistent work.
“It is an important signal that illegal practices will not go unpunished,” explained CABS President Karl-Heinz Kreutzer.
In parallel, CABS published a comprehensive analysis of the past eleven years: Between 2014 and 2024, the organization reported 1,000 cases of illegal hunting and trapping practices, of which 347 cases actually went to court. These included 298 cases of illegal trapping, 34 related to hunting violations, and 15 cases of illegal possession or trade of protected species.
Of the 347 cases, 217 resulted in convictions, 63 defendants were acquitted, and 67 cases are either still pending or their outcome is unknown. Four cases were discontinued because the defendants died before the verdict was delivered, and in four other cases the statute of limitations had expired.
The sanctions were multifaceted: In addition to fines totaling over €300,000, prison sentences were imposed, hunting and trapping licenses were revoked, and shotguns, nets, traps, and other trapping equipment were confiscated. Thousands of live protected birds were thus rescued and released back into the wild. Despite their intensive involvement, CABS staff and volunteers never received or applied for witness compensation.
CABS emphasizes that these figures only represent part of the problem, as reports from local NGOs such as BirdLife Malta or the Ranger's Unit are not included. Kreutzer stresses the central role of NGOs in protecting Malta's natural heritage:
In an ideal world, all these convictions should be achieved through proactive policing. Unfortunately, EPU (formerly ALE) officers are severely restricted: they are not allowed to work undercover, have inadequate equipment for surveillance, and are prohibited from operating on Gozo or at night. Without political support and sufficient resources, poachers will continue to profit.
The verdict against the bird trapper from Mgarr is a small but important step in the fight against illegal bird trapping. Nevertheless, 11 years of statistics show that the protection of native birdlife in Malta still depends heavily on civil society engagement – and that state structures are still far behind in taking the necessary measures.
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