The ugly face of poaching - Illegal bird trapping on Malta in spring 2017 - CABS

The deadly face of poaching - CABS film trappers’ masquerade with skull mask - 20 persons expected to be arraigned at court

The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) said that since mid-March its teams have filmed 20 poachers red-handed while trapping during the closed season. All cases were reported to the police and the men are expected to be arraigned at court in the coming months. Follow-up investigations of the police led to the confiscation of 40 live protected birds as well as trapping paraphernalia worth more than 10,000 Euros.

A new video uploaded by CABS on Youtube shows trappers setting up or removing clap nets as well as carrying cages with birds used as decoys.
The film can be watched here:    • Видео  

The organisation noticed that many poachers now went to extreme measures to mask their faces to avoid identification when being filmed. The video published by CABS documents a particularly bizarre encounter between the birdwatchers and a trapper from Fomm ir-Rih who was wearing a white skull mask while removing his clap net together with another person who had masked his face with a neckerchief. However, the masquerade counted for nothing. After removing the illegal net both men went into a hide which they later left without their masks. They will have to stand trial not only for illegal trapping but also for hiding their face in public. “These men looked and behaved like bank robbers but instead of money they were stealing protected birds from the wild”, CABS Press Officer Axel Hirschfeld commented.