Ta' Ċenċ Cliffs

Hiking trail to Ta' Cenc cliffs is very beautiful (once you are out of Xlendi, which is like most Maltese cities, just incredibly ugly). There are definitely some breathtaking views there. BUT just after Sanap cliffs, the horror begins. Those "private properties" owned by "nice people" who are kind enough to let you pass... First of all, those private properties are huge poaching grounds!!! From October to end of January, they poach every possible finch they can get their hands on. And I am talking about that whole area. There are about 50-100 little huts, each having about 150 square meters of poaching grounds attached to it, where those nice people who let you trespass set their traps. Meaning that they set around 30 tiny bird cages with birds in them around those 150 square meters. The birds sing because they are as close to freedom as they can possibly get again in their short lives, and that way, they attract other birds. The free birds land on wire traps on that area and get caught. On each of those grounds, were at least 5 new birds caught at the time we passed by. The "nice people", when they were asked about the birds, got aggressive and told you that you should just go further, because you are on private property. Taking a photo was very difficult, but I can show how one of these poaching areas looks like. Of course, the nice guy in the corresponding hut was already coming towards us, but I managed to pretend I was looking for the track on Google maps. Apparently, this problem is well known by the Maltese government and the EU commission tried to stop this, but the Maltese just ignored everything. So, I don't recommend giving any money as tourist to the Maltese again, especially not to Gozo. If they don't respect EU rules, they also don't deserve EU money. Now I know how the Maltese, who are seemingly very fond of having caged birds on their balconies, actually acquire their birds. Not cool!