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Times of Malta Article
Flamingo with a charmed life - Police urged to protect nature reserves
Ghadira nature reserve was broken into on Sunday, shortly after the sighting of a rare greater flamingo, presumably by an
individual or individuals intent on catching the rare bird, BirdLife Malta said.
The flamingo added to the natural attraction
of Ghadira and drew several visitors. It stayed at the reserve most of the day and was last seen at sundown. BirdLife said
that during the night, trespassers cut a hole in part of the perimeter fence and entered the area. The intruder must have
also climbed on the roof of the building. It said the bird had fortunately already left the reserve and no shooting was reported.
BirdLife said it condemned the "irresponsible and blatantly illegal behaviour". Such intrusions occurred
almost every time that rare or spectacular birds found refuge in the reserve. It said that removing any bird within the boundaries
of a nature reserve was illegal. The flamingo was also a protected species.
BirdLife also noted that over the past
month, hunters were heard and seen shooting almost daily well within the 500 metre 'no hunting' zone surrounding Ghadira.
However, several reports made to the police were ignored, it said. BirdLife urged the police to step up surveillance of
the country's nature reserves.
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