Belgian bird society to ask MEPs to ban spring hunting

The Belgian Bird Protection Society is shortly expected to present a petition signed by over 160,000 people asking the European Parliament to insist that the derogation Malta enjoys on hunting in spring be lifted.

Speaking to The Times, Jan Rodts, one of the two chairmen of the society, said the derogation was not being respected by hunters and trappers and therefore "should be lifted immediately".

Under EU law, hunting in spring is normally prohibited to protect birds during migration. However, with the derogation negotiated by Malta during accession talks, Maltese hunters are allowed to continue hunting for turtledoves and quail in spring.

Mr Rodts was in Malta to give interviews to a group of Dutch journalists who are producing a documentary about Malta which will be used in the campaign.

"The Belgian bird protection group has been involved in the Maltese situation for the past 30 years. We have, in the past, supplied stickers against robin trapping and educational material that was used in schools as we believed education was important.

"But 30 years later we realised that some of the children we tried to educate became hunters as the number of hunters has actually increased since then. So it is time for some harder action," he said.

"We know most Maltese people are against hunting and trapping so we will not take any action that could harm Malta. On the contrary, we want hunting and trapping to be stopped so that bird watching tours to Malta would become possible.

"Thousands of European birdwatchers are waiting for better times in Malta to enjoy the spectacle of bird migration in spring and autumn. You can't bring people to watch birds in Malta at the moment, with hunters and trappers threatening you wherever you go. If there were no hunting, hotels and restaurants could benefit in the shoulder months, when tourism is still picking up before the summer," Mr Rodts said.

In the few days Mr Rodts spent in Malta, he could see hunters shooting at protected species in several places.

"I knew that the hunting situation in Malta was bad, but to be honest, I did not think it was as bad as I used to hear. You have to be in the countryside at six in the morning to see how bad the situation is. Nothing is spared.

"From what I have seen, there are hardly any hunters who respect the law. You don't even see gulls in harbours and hardly see any around the coast. Harbours in Europe are full of gulls. I have no doubt that hunting is the main reason for this," Mr Rodts said.

"I was close to Mizieb, which I understand is in the hands of one of the hunters' organisations. I saw a flock of 21 bee-eaters which were gunned down. If hunters have no restraint in areas they control, how can individual hunters, out of sight in faraway places, be expected to respect the law," Mr Rodts said.

Mr Rodts said at least 40 highly threatened species, which are protected under Annex I of the EU Birds Directive on the conservation of wild birds, such as birds of prey, owls, herons, nightjars, larks and pipits, were regularly shot in Malta, even though they are protected by law.

Mr Rodts said he wondered how the head of the EU monitoring mission on hunting, Nicholas Henley, said that the situation was not as bad as it was reported in the Maltese press.

"The EU mission announced when it would be visiting Malta. It should have sent a team here incognito for two weeks to see what really happens. There is a big density of hunters. Birds really have no chance here. We receive e-mails and letters regularly from Belgians who come to Malta asking us to do something about it.

"The former Flemish Minister for the Environment, Historic Buildings Bureau and Landscapes, Johan Sauwens, a Christian Democrat, was in Malta and went around with a mountain bike a few years ago. He came back and urged us to do something about the hunting and trapping situation as he was appalled by what he saw.

"The current Flemish Environment Minister, Kris Peeters, also a Christian Democrat, is concerned about the hunting situation in Malta and wants to do something," Mr Rodts said.

"Local councils in Belgium pay people who have nests of house martins on the façades of their houses because the species has become rare. Here they are shot for target practice.

"We are prepared to stick our necks out. Enough is enough. We understand it can be difficult for some local organisations to take such a stand, but we are willing to take it. And we are not alone in this as there are other big ornithological societies backing us such as the Swedish, German and Greek Ornithological Societies," Mr Rodts said.

"Apart from hunting, during my walking tours I could see a lot of rubbish. You could see anything from small plastic bags to washing machines.

"I am beginning to think that the island is nothing more than a big dust-bin... without nature and without birds. The fact that one does not see gulls in Maltese harbours, for instance, shows how bad the hunting situation is," Mr Rodts repeated.

Anyone wishing to find out more about the Belgian Bird Protection Society can send an e-mail to Info@vogelbescherming.be.