Two of the Egyptian vultures released in Basilicata in 2021 as part of the LIFE Egyptian vulture project have undertaken migration to Africa taking, unfortunately, the route that passes through the island of Malta and both have ended up in the crosshairs of Maltese poachers.
Lucas miraculously escaped the target shooting and was able to continue his journey; Isabel, on the other hand, arrived in Malta on September 14 and from there she never left. The latest GPS signals and the information received from volunteers on the spot leave little doubt that she was shot dead. The time and area where Isabel was probably killed are known but her body has never been found.
The shots directed against Lucas and Isabel constitute very serious episodes against a protected and particularly threatened species but also represent the tip of a shameful and huge iceberg: it is known, in fact, that in Malta a significant number of birds belonging and many protected migratory species are illegally killed. Monitoring with GPS devices, together with collaboration with associations and local authorities, manages to bring out this barbarity but does not always allow to prevent it. And rarely, unfortunately, acts of poaching are punished.
After what happened to Isabel, the Vulture Conservation Foundation and the CERM Association sent an open letter to the Prime Minister of Malta urging him to take every possible action to investigate and punish this crime.
VCF and CERM, considering it unacceptable that in the year 2021 an individual belonging to such a precious species can be killed and that this crime remains unpunished, ask the Maltese authorities for a strong commitment so that similar incidents do not occur in the future. These are very serious episodes that frustrate the efforts for the conservation of the dent made by many European subjects and that make Malta in breach of its obligations under the Birds Directive.
The CERM Association has offered a reward of € 4,000 to anyone who is able to provide information that leads to the discovery of Isabel’s body and the identification of the person responsible for her killing. The Association guarantees absolute anonymity to those who will provide information on the episode.
other specimens belonging to protected species will reach Malta in the coming years.
The President of ISPRA has sent a letter to the Wild Birds Regulation Unit of Malta, the body responsible for the conservation of wild birds, in which he expresses concern about the phenomenon of illegal killing of birds in Malta and urges the Maltese authorities to put in place every possible action to combat poaching and thus strengthen the commitment to the implementation of the European Roadmap to combat illegal killings of birds. ISPRA also hopes that the Maltese police can be urged to intervene promptly to prevent further losses in the event that other Capovaccai and other specimens belonging to protected species reach Malta in the coming years.
