Juvenile Honey Buzzard Shot Down In Delimara

Yesterday, a young honey buzzard was supposed to continue its first migration journey after having left the nest during this summer in Northern Europe.

When flying over Delimara, it was shot down by a poacher who failed at retrieving it since it landed near the water’s edge. It was instead picked up by a member of the Public who alerted the Malta Ranger Unit.

The bird unfortunately died moments later, with the rangers informing the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) Police, who came for it and transported it to the Malta Government veterinary to have the cause of death.

The bird had several pellet wounds all over the body and head and bleeding from all of them. One of the wings was tall shattered.

Despite the loss, the board now forms part of the statistics that show Malta’s serious poaching issues.

‘A selfish act by a poacher, meant that not only was this bird's life wasted. The time and energy put in to raise this young 1st year Honey Buzzard by its parents, has now been wasted as well.’

#MaltaDaily

Source: Malta Ranger Unit