Prime Minister failed hunting plan or just doesn’t care – BirdLife

The wild bird fall hunting season will begin on Thursday 1 September 2022, allowing 500 turtledoves to be hunted, contrary to the recommendations of an expert EU task force, BirdLife said in a statement.

The government’s decision to get ahead of the season follows meetings held directly between the Hunting Federation, the Wild Bird Regulation Unit (WBRU) and Gozo Province, avoiding the ORNIS Commission. A flock of black kites sought refuge in the Maltese Islands last week and was targeted by illegal hunting, which has already ruined the autumn bird migration season and no enforcement has taken place, so hunters are forced to cut quotas. It is expected that it will be preserved.

The hunting season lasts for 5 months and over 30 species of birds can be hunted. The decision to proceed with the hunting of the European Turtle Dove (Gamiem) was made unilaterally by the Gozo Ministry without consultation with the ORNIS Commission. The committee, which was primarily used to rubber stamp politically-motivated decisions, has been convened since his May meeting, which infamously saw the unacceptable behavior of FKNK CEO Lino Farrugia. Is not …

Farrugia hit WBRU Chief Richard Lia during a heated exchange of words regarding hunters’ obligation to report hunting efforts during this spring’s hunting season.

A WBRU report on this spring’s hunting exemptions submitted to the European Commission said last spring that hunters killed at least one bird despite being required to report hunting activity and quail catches. Fewer than 10% of hunters reported catching. A total of 816 turtledoves were declared caught between 17-30 April 2022 among more than 8,000 hunters, according to NGOs.

Hunting for Turtle Doves last spring and this fall was permitted in defiance of the recommendations of the European Commission’s Task Force on Bird Recovery last March. The recommendation advised Member States to stop hunting the Turtle Dove in 2022 as the species continues to decline across Europe. Continent.

The conference also addressed the possibility of Malta opening a spring hunting season for turtle pigeons. Since then, various EU member states have heeded such advice and stopped hunting turtledoves this fall, including Sicily. Sicily recently declared that it would not start the turtledove hunting season, given the poor data collection and protection situation by the hunters themselves. of a species. The allocation of 1,500 birds last spring and 500 birds this fall was made by the WBRU on the basis of documents prepared by the FKNK, which made various assumptions about the movement of turtledoves through Malta, including released captive birds reaching Bulgaria. It comes from the calculations you made.

Commenting on the situation, Mark Sultana, CEO of BirdLife Malta, said: The Prime Minister has only put off Gozo Province ignoring his EU advice and shunning the ORNIS Commission, with illegal activities being recorded daily. BirdLife Malta has received a response and response from the Prime Minister last week after writing to him last week following illegal activity that saw flocks of black kites seeking refuge in the Maltese Islands targeted on the islands of Malta and Gozo. Haven’t heard back yet. Malta’s Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) had deployed his one-on-zero force on land for the past few days, but Gozo police were absent at the time of the incident. A request sent to the Police Commissioner about the current enforcement status also remains unanswered, according to BirdLife.

“Illegal activities that occur daily in the countryside do not bode well for a season with more than 10,000 licenses active in Malta and Gozo. Efforts expended in enforcement are disproportionate. , the government’s impasse on the situation is only sending a message to the hunting community to protect it,” commented Nicholas Barbara, BirdLife Malta’s Conservation Officer.

Darryl Grima, President of BirdLife Malta said: Smokescreen he Wild Rabbit hunting season should also end in July he for the same reason. Looking at this government’s track record in hunting, trapping, and the rule of law, it’s possible that this is all intent on hunting season, in addition to being a smoke screen for free slaughter of feathered things. We call on the European Commission’s Virginia Schinkevicius Environment Commission to take immediate action against Malta, a lawless country when it comes to hunting and trapping. Moreover, given that Prime Minister Robert Abella is not even willing to answer our open letter, all the protected defendants destined (and already killed) to be slaughtered for the political convenience of his party Bird blood will be in his hands!

With migrations of various protected bird species from Europe to Africa expected to increase in the coming weeks, BirdLife Malta is taking matters into its own hands by documenting and reporting illegal activities. I am calling on the general public to do so. As the eNGO prepares for his annual Raptor his camp to coincide with peak raptor migration, it is holding training sessions aimed at reducing illegal activity on the ground. increase. Illegal hunting trends in Malta show that raptors remain the most illegally targeted species, with taxidermy being the main cause of such illegal hunting. Incidents of illegal hunting or trapping should be reported to BirdLife Her Malta on 2134 7646 or 7925 5697 (after hours) or directly to the police on 119 and asked to contact the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU). please give me.