To:

Condor Individuell

Lufthansa AG

Karstadt/Quelle AG

Thomas Cook AG

Copy to:

BUND - Dr. Norbert Franck

NABU Kranichzentrum

THE SLAUGHTER OF MIGRANT BIRDS ON MALTA MUST STOP

Dear Sir,

Dear Madam,

Once again reports from Malta record the slaughter of hundreds - yes hundreds - of Honey Buzzards (Pernis apivorus) during their annual migration to their breeding grounds in Central and Northern Europe.

In a recent press release Condor Individuell, in which you all have considerable proprietary and financial interest, announced its plans to fly 50,000 German tourist to Malta in this summer and winter. Each of your companies prides itself on its environmental commitment. Condor and Lufthansa both have majestic birds as their company emblem. Lufthansa, in cooperation with the Nature Protection Association (Naturschutzbund NABU), WWF-Germany and the European Natural Heritage Foundation (Euronatur), support projects for the protection of the Common Crane in Germany and Extremadura, Spain. What about Malta?

"Every year in November flocks of cranes fly over Malta. Many of these get shot. One rest area they prefer is actually the airfield itself - a no shooting area due to the danger posed to planes - but nevertheless cranes resting there still get shot."

A BirdLife Malta member and Proact supporter on Malta.

We appeal to you to extend your commitment for nature protection to the Maltese islands. Malta is singularly dependent on tourism and your companies can, if you live up to your declared environmental principles, use your considerable influence with the Malta Tourist Authority and other government departments to - at the very least - express your abhorrence of the bi-annual bird massacres. You can obtain more and detailed information from the Proact website at www.proactnow.org/malta and BirdLife Malta at www.birdlifemalta.org

In the hope that you, and your environmental partners BUND and NABU, make a determined effort to assist in preventing such senseless brutality in a modern Europe we remain,

Yours sincerely,

(Name and Address)