Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1513442
16 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 20 DECEMBER 2023 NEWS ACROSS 1) Hang-out buddy 5) Calendar mo. 8) One of two berths 13) Cause some vexation 14) Ignore socially 16) Persona non ___ (unwel- come one) 17) Sicilian lava source 18) Not needing to be broken 19) Some Parliament members 20) Ding-a-lings 23) Feminine pronoun 24) Brass that resembles gold 25) "Pulp Fiction" character (with "the") 28) Ghostly sound 29) "No ___ , ands or buts" 31) Damage 32) Cable sports award 35) Target of a tiny arrow 38) Make amends 40) Create empty-nesters 43) Be reckless with a bucket 44) "Dynamics" start 45) They may get in your hair 46) Dine 47) Parabola 49) Aviate 51) Mushroom part 53) Pure and virtuous 56) Auto group letters 59) Common morning fare 62) Expenditures 64) Shepard who went around and around 65) "Uno, dos" follower 66) Dislodges 67) Actress Campbell 68) Penny 69) Axes or cans 70) Like many roses 71) Movie locations DOWN 1) Leafy salad green 2) Unforeseen obstacle 3) Some human bones 4) Potatoes go-with 5) Kuiper Belt object 6) Render weaponless 7) Louisiana dish 8) Jamaican citrus fruit 9) Fork feature 10) Penny-pinching 11) Bus station announcement (Abbr.) 12) ___ in rabbit (grade-school lesson) 15) Certain German 21) "Not a moment_ soon!" 22) "___ Wiedersehen" 26) Canine disease 27) Try too hard, competitively 28) Some tourney draws 30) Spotted 32) A lot of Mississippi? 33) Water balloon-hitting-ce- ment sound 34) Sit-in participant 36) Male carriage driver 37) It shows George's face 39) Neat as a pin 41) "I figured it out!" 42) Started to melt 48) "His Master's Voice" of old electronics 50) Was in charge of everyone 52) Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby___" 54) Having more capabilities 55) Toil away 56) Correspond, grammatical- ly 57) Contract negotiator, often 58) Admin. aides 60) "Dress For Less" chain 61) List-ending abbreviations 62) Not working today 63) Canton in Switzerland F Solution to last week's crossword The answers to today's crossword will be published in next week's Midweek edition Weather Rather cloudy with some isolated showers at first becoming cloudy with showers locally thundery and gusty at times Visibility Good locally moderate to poor in showers TOMORROW Crossword WEATHER ISOLATED SHOWERS 22 0 / 16 0 TODAY ISOLATED SHOWERS 20 / 15 0 FEELS LIKE 20 0 FEELS LIKE 22 0 KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt A Barn Owl bred in captivity and released in- to the wild by hunting group FKNK was shot by poachers in Żebbuġ, BirdLife said. The bird was found at the St Dorothy's School with a gunshot wound to its right wing and handed over to BirdLife by a member of the public. A ring on the bird's left leg indicated it formed part of the FKNK's Barn Owl Re- introduction Project based in Buskett. The project breeds barn owls in captivity and gradually introduces them into the wild in the hope of establishing a resident popu- lation. The irony of having a bird of prey re- leased into the wild by a hunting organi- sation only to be illegally shot by would-be hunters was not lost on BirdLife. "Not even birds released by the hunters themselves are being spared from illegal hunting this autumn hunting season," the bird conser- vation group said. An examination by the government vet has confirmed that the bird suffered a gun- shot wound, leading to a broken right wing. BirdLife Malta CEO Mark Sultana called this incident "the tip of the iceberg" of what happens with illegal hunting. "It re- minds us how destructive hunting is and how backwards in time we have gone when even the efforts of the hunting lobby to greenwash hunters' activities, gets stained red in blood literally by hunters them- selves," Sultana said, adding this is "a far cry from true conservation". FKNK started the Barn Owl project in 2018 and it is funded by the government through the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU). Its objective is to re-establish the species that was exterminated by illegal hunting throughout the years. Various pairs of Barn Owl used to breed in Malta and Gozo regularly until the 1980s. The Barn Owls are bred and reared in captivity in a facility in Buskett, before be- ing released back into the wild where it is hoped they will breed once again across the Maltese Islands. Poachers target Barn Owl released into the wild by hunting group BirdLife says one of the victims of illegal hunting is a Barn Owl released into the wild by hunt-ing group FKNK as part of its reintroduction project