Appeal for complete closure of hunting season

Nature Trust said yesterday it supported BirdLife Malta's appeal to the authorities to honour their commitments and curb the regular slaughter of birds, including protected migratory species.

As predicted, Malta's intention to invoke article nine of the birds directive to allow hunting of turtle doves and quail in spring had resulted in a free-for-all massacre last spring, Nature Trust said.

No more has been done to curb illegal hunting despite the political commitment made during the negotiations for EU membership.

The trust noted that impending EU membership had not resulted in the appropriate beefing up of the police administrative law enforcement division.

"A massive increase in the manpower and equipment resources of the ALE is definitely necessary to control the firing spree taking place all over the countryside and over the sea in violation of the national laws and against the spirit of the soon-binding Malta-EU agreement regarding accession."

Nature Trust urged the authorities to close the hunting season completely while bird migration was taking place, especially since the close season in Malta was the shortest in Europe and also coincided with the time when only a few birds were migrating.

Additionally, the NGO called once again for the setting up of the green warden system as a priority issue on the agenda of environmental politics.

Among other duties the green wardens would help the ALE to curb illegal hunting and stop the still commonly used illegal vertical nets and bird calling apparatus.

Nature Trust also asked the Ornis committee to step up its efforts and deliver tangible results before "the next pending slaughter".