Hunter acquitted of falsifying stuffed birds permit

A hunter was today found not guilty of falsifying a permit covering his collection of stuffed birds, after a court ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove its case. Emmanuel Fenech, 45, from Mosta, was arraigned on April 5, 2008 following a police raid in his home when he was found in possession of 159 stuffed birds. Senior Mepa environmental officer Stanley Gatt had told the court that when the accused was asked if his collection was covered by a permit, he had produced a copy of a document stamped with the ‘received date’ of February 16, 1993. However, it later transpired that this was a copy he had made before submitting the application, and so questions were raised how it could have been stamped before reaching the authorities. The Mepa official had also flagged at least 10 anomalies in the 'permit', and said that no records of the accused’s collection had been found at the Environment Department. Hence the official concluded that Mr Fenech’s documentation was false. On his part the accused had told the police that he had regularised his position following an amnesty given in 1996. In its decision the court said that the accused was consistent in his statements...