Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/580873
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 4 OCTOBER 2015 News 7 JAMES DEBONO ACCESS to two picturesque beaches in the Delimara area, one in Hofriet and another in the vicinity of St Peter's Pool, are literally at the mercy of gatekeepers. MaltaToday was recently alerted by a number of persons who had found access to the beaches blocked by a gate and who claimed were threatened by shotgun fire when trying to cross one of these gates. During a visit to the area a few days ago, this MaltaToday journalist could walk un- disturbed through the open gates through the paths leading to the two beaches. But persons who frequent the area confirmed that the gates are periodically closed. The case was reported to the Malta Envi- ronment and Planning Authority but no re- ply has been forthcoming. MEPA recently issued enforce- ment orders against illegal devel- opments, in the area including the building of a terrace surrounded by a wall next to a pillbox at il-Ponta tal-Gidien. Another enforcement notice was against illegal wall rooms and a ter- race roofed by corrugated sheeting constructed illegally at il-Kalanka it-Tawwalija, a short distance from the abandoned 'Delimara Hotel' in the Kalanka area. Another enforcement order in the same area refers to the ille- gal development of hunting hides and the planting of invasive acacia trees. MEPA also issued an enforcement order against a terrace, parapett wall and small room built without a permit in the Ponta tal-Gidien ar- ea of Delimara and against the con- struction of a room and walls in the Taht il-Fanal area. All the illegali- ties are located in a scheduled Area of Ecological Importance and have yet not been removed by MEPA. Recently MaltaToday revealed that an application had been presented to redevelop the old Kalanka hotel. The Delimara area where these ille- galities are located and where the hotel is now being proposed, was designated as a national park in the local plan ap- proved in 2006. An application for the new park's master plan, presented by the gov- ernment, was approved in 2010 but later withdrawn. The application foresaw the creation of walkways, timber railings, a car park, street furniture and gazebos. Public access to beaches was protected by the Structure Plan, which calls on the state to secure public ownership of the coastline. The plan has now been replaced by the Stra- tegic Plan for the Environment and Devel- opment which only contains a vague refer- ence to accessibility. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Delimara beaches at mercy of 'gatekeepers' During a visit to the area a few days ago, this MaltaToday journalist could walk undisturbed through the open gates through the paths leading to the two beaches. But persons who frequent the area confirmed that the gates are periodically closed. White stork 'shot down in Gozo' POLICE are investigating re- ports into the fatal shooting of a white stork in Gozo, between Gharb and San Lawrenz. At around 1:30pm, two poach- ers allegedly shot and killed the stork at close range and fled with their quarry. BirdLife conservation manag- er Nicholas Barbara confirmed with MaltaToday that his or- ganisation received an anony- mous phonecall from a resident who had witnessed the incident first-hand and had called the police. On Friday, a flock of white storks from a Swedish conser- vation programme landed in Malta, where they were guarded by a BirdLife team. It is unlikely that the stork shot today was one of these nine storks, as they all left the island to continue their migratory voyage to Africa earlier today. St Hubert's Hunters (KSU) president Mark Mifsud Bonnici said that hunters and ornitholo- gists had come together to pho- tograph and enjoy the sight of the storks as they prepared for their journey south. "The myth that in Malta hunt- ers shoot everything that flies has for years tarnished Malta's hunters," he said. "Clearly some do benefit from promoting such perception but facts speak loud- er than words." rescue and rehabilitation services portance of professionals caring for them. Attard said that abandoned young were also among the main calls Nature Trust received for bats. Attard explained that the care of young bats and hedgehogs en- tailed that volunteers had to both feed the creatures themselves and later even train them in catching their own food. He added that although people sometimes had the best intentions in providing help to the injured animals, their efforts sometimes backfired horribly. "We see a lot of cases on social media, where people try to help turtles they find for instance, but then we get a call about a turtle washing up ashore dead some days later," he said. He clarified that swallowing fish- ing hooks and lines were among the most common injuries for tur- tles, but that attempting to remove the lines or even pulling them of- ten results in tearing their inter- nal organs. He further added that turtles should never be turned up- side down as leaving them in that position for prolonged periods can result in suffocation. Attard added that people needed to understand that the best thing to do was to inform MEPA, Nature Trust or even a vet to make sure that a professional could make the necessary assessment and deter- mine the best course of action for the animal. Confronted by the question of how to reduce the possibility of injuring animals so often, Attard said that the knee-jerk reaction would be to not litter as much. He added that another method of reducing the risk of endangering other animals was to slow down, both on land and in the sea. An adult hedgehog being released back into nature