Report an illegal hunting or trapping activity
The season for hunting on land has been open since the 1st of September and will continue till the 31st January. The hours during which hunting is legal are between two hours before sunrise until two hours after sunset. Trapping is currently also legal for 7 species of finch, Turtle Dove, Quail, Golden Plover and Song Thrush and will remain so until the 31st December after which the activity should be banned as required by the Birds Directive. Hunting at sea is permitted till the 31st January. There are currently 32 huntable species of bird.
Amongst other offences it is illegal to:
- Hunting in protected areas like nature reserves, residential areas, beaches, public gardens or parks
- Hunting out of hours,
- Using weapons capable of firing more than 3 simultaneous shots,
- Using electronic bird callers,
- Hunting/trapping protected species,
- Hunting within 50 metres of a road or 200 meters of a residential area,
- Using sea craft for hunting which can sail in excess of 18 kmph,
- Hunting at sea within 200 meters of the coast,
- Hunting after 13:00 on Sundays or public holidays,
When you witness illegal hunting or trapping of protected birds, immediately call the A.L.E. on 22942161/2/3 (Monday to Saturday, between 8am to 5.30pm, Saturday until 2 pm).
You can call the Police Command Centre on 21224001 at any time.
It is important to call immediately after you witness the illegal activity. Before you call make sure that you have most of the information needed by the police:
- Exact location of incident or land mark;
- Details of incident (bird-trapping, hunting);
- Number of persons involved;
- Details of appearance (colour of clothes, long or short trousers etc.);
- Car registration number (if applicable);
- Take note of where the illegally hunted bird is kept (in the car, in the hide, behind a tree, given to a third party etc.);
- Recall time and date of incident.
Also keep a record of the time and date of your report to the police and ask for the badge number of the policeman/woman you are speaking to. Keep a record of this and make reference to this badge number when you follow up with another call a few days later to see what the outcome was.
It is also useful if you inform BirdLife Malta of the report so that it can be included in statistics on illegal hunting which are compiled into a report on anual basis. To view the Illegal Hunting Report of 2007 click here.