MaltaMedia.com

The decision by the Maltese Government to once again permit spring hunting of Turtle Dove and Quail has been criticised by conservationists throughout Europe, according to the German-based Committee against Bird Slaughter (CABS). “This is bad news for the populations of two species that are already endangered in large parts of the EU”, stated Heinz Schwarze, President of the Committee.

The organisation said that a so-called derogation from the Bird´s Directive, as applied in this case by the Maltese government, is legally very questionable, as “hunting of birds on pre-nuptial migration can never be considered sustainable”. “The hunting of migrant birds at a point in time when the species-specific winter losses are already evident causes a far higher damage to populations than hunting in autumn” CABS president Heinz Schwarze explains. CABS stresses that the populations of both species have greatly declined in Germany and other EU member states.

That aside, the conservationists fear, that the opening of the hunting season for Turtle Dove and Quail is for some hunters an open invitation to illegally shoot birds of prey. Raptor migration is at its peak towards the end of April, with thousands of Honey Buzzards, Harriers and Hobbies, roosting on the Maltese islands.

CABS have great misgivings about the ability of the undermanned environmental police unit A.L.E. to conduct effective controls over the restrictions imposed by the government. “Over the past few decades it has proved to be beyond the capability of the police to prevent poaching during the legal hunting season – why should this year be different?, asks Schwarze.

CABS will be sending a team of eight Bird Guards to Malta this Friday, with the task of compiling data on the extent of illegal hunting for one week before and during the debatable spring hunting season. Their operations will be conducted from 16th to 30th April and will include the recording of the killing of protected species as well as the mapping of illegal bird callers.

In addition, police reaction times to reports of illegal hunting activity will be documented in detail and included in a final report to the European Commission, the organisation said. Heinz Schwarze concludes “Europe’s eyes are on Malta this spring. We expect the responsible authorities to employ all legal means at their disposal to fully investigate and prosecute criminal poaching activity”.

Meanwhile, according to a Times report, the hunters’ federation said on Monday that it would name and shame any hunters who applied for the special licence for spring hunting for a week at the end of this month. The federation said that such hunters would also have their membership revoked since, by their actions, they would be endangering the future of traditional spring hunting for many thousands of other hunters and trappers.

Applications for the special licences opened Monday at Maltapost branch offices, but all was quiet and the hunters appeared to be obeying the directive. The FKNK said the opening of a spring hunting season of just one week was ‘obscene’ and accepting it would set a precedent for the future.

In its statement on Monday, the FKNK described the Prime Minister as being intransigent after he declared in Dubai yesterday that there were no grounds to extend this year’s spring hunting season.

The FKNK last Friday had urged the government to reconsider its decision, The Times adds. The FKNK, according to the newspaper, said it would continue to struggle through every legal means to ensure that hunters and trappers were able to enjoy their rights, despite having been betrayed through false promises.

The federation said that the government was committing an injustice is denying Maltese hunters the same rights enjoyed by over seven million hunters and trappers in Europe. This was an injustice which would never be forgotten.

The federation, in the same statement, reiterated its directives to hunters not to apply for the special licence to hunt at the end of this month.