Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1416377
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 OCTOBER 2021 NEWS Flamingo poacher, 23, denied bail LUKE VELLA HUNTER Miguel Zammit, 23 of Gżira, was denied bail yes- terday after being arraigned in court, pleading not guilty to the illegal gunning down of four Greater Flamingos at Qa- wra point. On Saturday morning, at around 7:30am, BirdLife vol- unteers witnessed the four flamingos being shot down off Qawra Point. Police retrieved a firearm, ammunition and the four fla- mingo carcasses, three from out at sea, on arresting Zam- mit. Zammit's defence counsel ar- gued that his client was not a recidivist and that he had col- laborated with the police. Mag- istrate Elaine Mercieca refused the request for bail and Zam- mit was taken into custody. BirdLife Malta said the inci- dent amplifies its past requests for the area to be declared as a no-hunting zone. The Ornis Committee, the consultative body on hunting regulations, had proposed in 2016 that hunting and trapping should be prohibited at Qawra Point. "The small islet is very well placed for migratory birds to find refuge on and with its vi- cinity to BirdLife Malta's Salina Nature Reserve, birds coming in or out of the reserve have been targeted by hunters in this area," Birdlife CeO Mark Sultana said. The area is close to the res- idential area of Qawra and residents complain about the continuous, illegal use of bird callers. The presence of hunt- ers also makes swimmers feel unsafe and unwelcome in the area. Sultana said BirdLife had been offered a guardianship deed agreement to take over the area, but it appears that the banning of hunting in the area was not part of the deed. "With the illegal killing of birds being highlighted in the European Commission's legal proceedings on Malta's der- ogations, today's massacre of Greater Flamingos will not go unnoticed, and action will be expected. In view of all this BirdLife Malta is calling on Prime Minister Robert Abe- la to protect Qawra Point and the birds that fly over it by de- claring it a no hunting area. BirdLife Malta is expecting this as the public is outraged at the illegal killing problem in our country," Sultana said. Sultana said Malta needs to solve its illegal bird killing problem, by designating more bird sanctuaries and restart- ing the verification process of stuffed bird collections that benefited from past amnesties. Hunting lobby FKNK de- nounced the poaching inci- dent, saying criminals had no place in a civilized society, and were not part of the hunting community. Zammit was not an FKNK member. FKNK said it woudl keep working in favour of the sus- tainability of hunting and trap- ping on the Maltese islands. "The FKNK sends warning that the federation, as well as the thousands of hunters and trappers under its wing, will never allow any delinquent to tarnish FKNK and its mem- bers." Miguel Zammit