Summary:
BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham has been questioned by police in Malta after trying to film hunters slaughtering birds.

Full article:
By . Mail On Sunday Reporter . 'Carnage': Chris Packham said he was willing to get shot to get his message across . Police grilled BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham for five hours yesterday after he tried to film hunters slaughtering migratory birds in the Mediterranean. The Springwatch presenter was quizzed in Malta after videoing hunters for his website. The hunters claimed the footage he shot had breached their privacy. Packham, 51, told Malta Today newspaper that, at one point, he was threatened with arrest but said: ‘I did everything I could to be co-operative.’ The animal-lover said he wanted to cover the ‘carnage like a news team reporting a war’. Before going to the island, he said: ‘I don’t care if I get shot. If that’s the cost of getting the message across that birds we expect to see in our gardens are dead in some Maltese field because of this senseless slaughter, I’m willing to pay the price.’ Packham voluntarily attended questioning, his agent said. Last month, The Mail on Sunday reported how Prince Charles had condemned the ‘industrial scale killing’ of songbirds by ‘serious organised criminals’ in the Mediterranean. Malta has 10,750 registered hunters who are legally only allowed to shoot turtle doves and quail. However, charity BirdLife International claims four million birds are killed every year, including three million finches.