Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/585489
A bird trapper from Gozo was found guilty of illegal finch trap- ping close to San Lawrenz during the closed season in spring 2015. Magistrate Joe Mifsud sen- tenced the man to pay €8,000 and had his trapping permit and hunting licence revoked for life. The case was reported to the police by a team of the Com- mittee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) on 23 March 2015 af- ter the volunteers observed and photographed the man operating an active clap net and an illegal electronic bird caller to attract finches to the trapping site. According to CABS the man was a repeat offender with at least one prior conviction related to illegal trapping of birds. CABS president Heinz Schwarze welcomed the verdict as a "very clear and strong sig- nal to poachers that the society is not going to tolerate their ac- tions anymore". The fine is probably the high- est fine for a single case of illegal bird trapping in Maltese history, CABS said. The NGO said that it will not monitor the trapping season in October with up to three teams until December and report all cases of illegal trapping to the police. "In case the season has to be closed because the EC seeks a temporary embargo we will be there to monitor the ban and report all active sites to the po- lice", CABS wildlife crime officer Fiona Burrows added. www.maltatoday.com.mt wednesday edition wednesday • 14 OctOber 2015 • issue 438 • published every wednesday and sunday €1.00 Newspaper post Government transfers repossessed Café Premier to Valetta local council MiriaM Dalli THE government has agreed to transfer the former Café Premier premises to the Valletta local council, allowing the council to operate from a strategic location in the capital city. News of the decision first emerged in a working document that was uploaded by mistake on the website of the Finance Min- istry, on Budget day. Addressing a post-budget press conference at Auberge de Castille, Prime Min- ister Joseph Muscat confirmed that a decision had been taken to devolve the property to the PN- led local council. "The premises formed part of a list of properties suggested by the same Valletta council. We believe that the premises would be far more adequate for the council," the Prime Minister said. The previous administration had acquired the former HSBC building with the intention of using it as premises for the At- torney General, freeing up space for the Valletta local council to move into the Main Guard. The plans however changed under the current administration, and the former HSBC building now houses the Ministry for Tour- ism. Café Premier is at the centre of a controversy over the way the Labour administration rushed to pay the private company Cit- ies Entertainment (CE) the sum of €4.2 million to buy back its public lease of the property in Valletta. In February 2014, MaltaToday broke the story that the Gov- ernment Property Department (GPD) had withdrawn legal ac- tion for the rescission of CE's lease, despite having fallen back on some €250,000 in ground rent. Instead, on the advice of former GPD director and advisor to the Prime Minister, John Sciber- ras, the Cabinet approved a €4.2 million bailout to buy back the 65-year lease on the café in Old Theatre Street, Valletta; which money was used to pay the State back on outstanding rents, en- ergy bills, VAT and tax, as well as Banif Bank loans of €2 mil- lion and a €210,000 fee to CE's shareholder Mario Camilleri for brokering the deal with John Sci- berras. PaGE 7 Gozitan gets record €8,000 fine for illegal trapping Trapper receives lifetime ban on hunting and trapping licence over illegal finch trapping The government paid €4.2 million to reacquire the 65-emphyteusis from Cities Entertainment A caged Greenfinch used for live decoys by trappers PHOTOGRAPHY BY: CABS