Migrating birds from 38 countries, including Britain , have been found by conservationists illegally shot or trapped in Malta , The Telegraph reported.

The study by BirdLife Malta found the remains of 14 birds ringed in Britain , including cuckoo, goldfinch, spotted redshank, gannet, great skua and short-eared owl. About 16 ospreys ringed in Scandinavia were also found, the newspaper added.

Conservationists say the number of ringed birds from Northern Europe found in the survey is likely to be a tiny fraction of the number of migrating birds killed in Malta 's spring shooting season.

Now Malta is widely regarded as the worst offender against the EU Birds Directive of all the EU's 27 member states, The Telegraph continued to say. Last June the European Commission opened infringement procedures against the tiny nation.

A petition signed by 115,000 was drawn up by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The petition was delivered on Monday morning on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi's doorstep at Auberge de Castille as a Cabinet meeting was in progress.

In a statement the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) denied the RSPB’s allegations that the Prime Minister had refused to meet them. The statement added that the last communication between OPM and RSPB was on the 9th November 2006 when the Prime Minister’s Private Secretariat had replied to the society and agreed to set up a meeting. No reply to this letter has yet been given, OPM said.

See also: Hunting to be discussed in European Parliament by MaltaMedia News - Dec 4, 2006