Arsonists Burn Nature Preserve in Malta

The Ghadira Nature Reserve was attacked by arsonists in the first week of February.

A night watchman for the reserve called police early one morning after spotting huge flames in the north-west corner of the property. Police and fire personnel were on the scene quickly and extinguished the fire.

“An area of approximately 75 metres by 5 metres has been burnt to the ground. If the reserve had not been so damp, the fire would probably have been much more extensive”,  stated Charles Gaucci, the reserve warden.

In January an intruder was seen on the reserve property at night and was chased off by police. On Christmas Eve another incident occured when a border fence was cut by trespassers, and a plank laid across the protective moat for illegal entry to the reserve. Live cartridges were found near the fence hole. Over the last 2 years Maltese bird conservation sites have been subjected to 20 attacks or threats. In February of last year three cars belonging to volunteers helping with scientific studies on the project sites were burned. In the spring of 2007 several thousand trees and shrubs were chopped down or uprooted.

Apparently none of the attackers have been apprehended by the police and so they can’t be prosecuted. Birdlife Malta’s Executive Director lamented: “This failure, therefore, protects the perpetrators of these crimes and gives them free rein to continue the abuse. ”

Though small in physical area, Malta is important to the millions of birds that migrate between Africa and Europe each year. It is the resting and feeding place for about 350 species of migratory birds. Reportedly, Maltese hunters either kill or trap about three million of them on their annual trips.

The BBC has published a photo gallery of some of the birds shot and killed in Malta.

Image Credit: Wikipedia Malta page: Author, Inkwina

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