Rare Short-toed Eagles targeted in Malta

30/01/2007 00:00:00 A flock of 14 short-toed eagles that arrived in Malta in early November was met with volleys of shots from hunters and are believed to have been decimated. By the evening of the day they arrived, 3 out of the 14 eagles had been shot and the flock had been dispersed as the birds sought overnight refuge in the north of Malta. Law Administration & Enforcement Police (ALE) were alerted by BirdLife Malta and went to the site where the eagles were circling and found a flurry of activity of hunters looking for an opportunity to shoot the birds. It is not known whether any arrests were made.

The birds were first seen at around 15:30 in the Handaq area, proceeding to Zebbug and then to the north in the Dwejra area pursued by illegal shooting wherever they ventured. By 17:30 hours the flock had dispersed to individual birds coming in low to find a sleeping place amidst a flurry of crazy car chases by several hunters, discouraged to some extent by the presence of the ALE police.

Birders who attempted seeing the birds again on Saturday at dawn did not see even one eagle, raising fears that the birds were all shot either at dusk or even shot at night whilst roosting in the trees.
‘The systematic way in which these eagles were persecuted in a few hours is undeniable proof that illegal hunting in Malta is the order of the day. At the same time we have the Police Commissioner instructing the ALE to go slow on court action against hunters breaking sections of the hunting law.’ - said Joseph Mangion, President of BirdLife Malta.

In another incident, BirdLife Malta also received a report that a Short-toed Eagle was shot in Mizieb on Wednesday 1st November.
Short-toed eagles (Circaetus gallicus - Ajkla Bajda) are large birds of prey whose decline in Europe has been somewhat checked by conservation measures. The species is listed as an Annex 1 species of the European Birds Directive.

Courtesy of Birdlife Malta.