Data & Analysis

Incident statistics & hotspots

Live data from reported incidents. Hotspot analysis helps authorities prioritise enforcement resources. All data is anonymised.

The national picture

Figures compiled from BirdLife Malta Raptor Camp monitoring, CABS field reports and official licensing data. They show why rapid, precise reporting of electronic callers matters.

Electronic callers

  • 72% of illegal hunting incidents recorded during Raptor Camp involved electronic bird callers
  • 1 in 5 callers specifically targeted strictly protected species — Stone Curlew, Grey Heron, Long-eared Owl, Nightjar
  • Many run overnight or before 6:20 AM, when police enforcement is absent

Scale of hunting

  • 10,000–11,000 licensed bird hunters and ~4,000 licensed trappers — the highest hunter density in the EU
  • 600+ protected birds officially confirmed illegally shot between 2018 and 2021 — birds of prey hit hardest
  • Fewer than 3% of licensed hunters submitted mandatory game reports in some seasons

Enforcement

  • Average police response time of 51 minutes from call to arrival on site, documented by BirdLife Malta during Raptor Camp — at times a single EPU unit covered the whole island
  • Only ~40–50 criminal prosecutions per year against 200–300+ major illegalities recorded by NGOs
  • When courts do convict: €1,800–€3,000 fines and 3-year or lifetime licence bans

Why fast reporting matters

Callers are usually switched off and hidden before enforcement arrives — many run overnight and are shut off just before dawn, and 25–30% of disclosed field cases are dropped because perpetrators flee, wear masks, or dismantle gear in time. With police often handling simultaneous reports across the island, a report with an audio recording and exact GPS coordinates, filed the moment you hear a caller, is the single best way to close that 51-minute gap.

Reports on this platform

Live data from reports submitted through Isma’ Bird.

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