Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/814533
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 23 APRIL 2017 15 Interview Malta could be a bird lover's tourism paradise, BBC journalist CHRIS PACKHAM argues... if only we stopped killing and trapping all the birds only one car was available. Given the breadth and scope of this issue, that's far too little... That incident seems to contrast with the other one in Gozo this week. Is this typical of his past experiences with the police? I think it's very interesting. Our experiences with the police here fall squarely into two very distinct camps. There are officers who do their duty: they arrive, they lis- ten, they take action and they do what they should be doing. And they seem to do so with an ele- ment of goodwill. And there are other officers who are the com- plete opposite. There's no middle ground. Either they'll do their job, or they will oppose you. I've seen some very good police action tak- ing place here: officers out in the field, arresting people, confiscat- ing guns and traps... but on other occasions, I've seen police arriving and not taking down evidence – with the result that the evidence disappears. Last week I saw both the best – that net was confiscated, no problems, everything was done very efficiently – and then we go to Gozo, where it's very clear that the trapper had been tipped off. By the time the police came, the cage was empty, when it had birds in it before. And later, when the police- man assaulted me... I was pushed away by a policeman who said to me twice – we have it on record – that he would use the trapper's evidence to prosecute me... Which he did... Which he did. But we were only reported for an alleged crime. I think it sends out entirely the wrong message. In a positive light, however, it gives us the opportu- nity to highlight the very difficult conditions in which Birdlife and CABS are operating. Because these people are acting within the law to ask for the law to be upheld. But those who are responsible for up- holding the law – the police – are working against them, and failing to do their duty. This is very disap- pointing. I think the positive thing that will come out is that many will sympathise with how difficult the job of BLM and CABS is, and this will engender more support. Be- cause people like don't like a lack of justice. What we've seen in this case is a lack of justice. As far as we know, nothing will happen to the person allegedly keeping protected birds in a cage; while I needed to defend myself in court. Fortunate- ly we had enough evidence to win the case. But this is just one case. Birdlife have this all year around... To end on a positive note: is the 'bird tour' he mentioned earlier something already organised and ready to take off? Will promoting eco-tourism be the next stage of the conversation effort? Hopefully, next year we'll ap- proach visitmalta.uk and all the travel agencies – we haven't done this yet, but we will soon - and bring a party of people here. They'll have a great time, see some great birds... We will point out some of the things that are wrong, too, it won't all be about that. This is very much a positive thing. Hopefully it will illustrate to the tourism agen- cies, and to the people of Malta, that you've got a fantastic resource here. And it's far better to preserve it than to shoot it... etter preserve than shoot them The economy of the country could be boosted, rather than negatively impacted by a tiny number of individuals who are breaking the law BIRD TOURISM