Four Greater Flamingos were shot dead on Saturday morning by 23-year-old hunter Miguel Zammit. The young hunter pleaded not guilty, but request for bail was denied, resulting in Zammit being taken to prison. BirdLife Malta stated that a bird watcher witnessed a flock of flamingos being killed at Qawra Point, subsequently calling the authorities on the alleged culprit.
Following the retrieval of four flamingo carcasses by the Armed Forces, the non-profit organisation BirdLife Malta reiterated its call to Prime Minister Robert Abela and the government to make Qawra Point a protected area and a no-hunting zone. This has been insisted by the organisation for a number of years. Following the incident and court developments, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia released his statement;
Farrugia declared that it is currently being decided to make the zone a no-hunting area, with BirdLife Malta taking over as guardians through a newly signed deal. The organisation welcomed the governmental decision, stating that they are happy to see common sense prevailing. Despite acknowledging the fact that another four highly-protected bird species had to be killed for this to occur, the decision was welcomed with open arms.
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Abela said that this proposal shows that Malta is ready for ambitious reforms and that the government will continue to lead an honest discussion with the goal of understanding what future our children will wish to inherit. Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg revealed that the studies were aimed at prompting discussion around project related issues. These include understanding and justifying the cost and time it could entail.
