On average, Maltese hunters and trappers did not even manage to shoot or trap one turtle dove or quail each in the spring of 2004, according to a report presented by the government to the EU to justify the application of the spring shooting derogation.
The EU Birds Directive bans spring hunting but allows for a derogation from the ban under certain criteria. The report fulfils the government's obligation to justify why it allowed hunters and trappers to continue to hunt turtle dove and quail in spring last year.
The justification will now be analysed by the Commission. If it is rejected, Malta will be fined for applying a derogation that was not justified, sources close to the Commission said.
The report states that last year, there were 11,759 registered hunters and 4,691 registered trappers, amounting to 16,450. Between them they shot or trapped 2,128 quails and 10,111 turtle doves between May 1 and May 22. The vast majority were shot. The report only gives the figures of birds shot in May as Malta joined the EU on May 1 of that year.
These figures, however, contrast sharply with far higher figures that have been given by both hunters and bird lovers in the past.
The government document gives reasons why there is no other satisfactory solution for Malta except to retain the derogation and speaks about "the strict conditions" under which hunting and trapping are taking place.
It argues that quail and turtle dove are "the traditional huntable game birds in Malta" and that their capture "does not jeopardise conservation efforts in their distribution area".
The report says it is impossible to quantify the actual number of birds involved in migration over the Maltese islands as their numbers fluctuate greatly from year to year and from season to season. A high percentage of the birds occurring in the Maltese islands are usually brought down by adverse weather conditions, it adds.
It also argues that both quail and the turtle dove migrate on a broad front right across the Mediterranean and that there is no evidence that the islands received more than a representative cross section of this broad front migration.
"When one compares the numbers of birds hunted and captured in the Maltese islands to the whole of the European population, which totals 4,700,000 pairs of quails and 7,200,000 pairs of turtle doves, the numbers (shot in Malta) are not that significant," the report says. It is argued that in autumn, few turtle doves and quail can be shot in Malta because there are fewer birds than in spring. European Commission officials "had accepted the fact that the banning of such an activity during spring would also be tantamount to the abolition of hunting in the Maltese islands".
The report holds it is important that the continuation of old popular national customs, such as the traditional rural game dishes typical of the Maltese cuisine in springtime, is maintained since these cannot be replaced by other activities with similar socio-cultural values.
"The Birds Directive in fact makes allowance for traditional activities whenever there is no other satisfactory solution."
The combined area of reserves and places where the capturing of birds is not allowed in the Maltese islands is given at 59.89% of the whole area of the islands.
The report further maintains that enforcement has been improved, so much so that 475 cases of illegal hunting and trapping activities were brought to the Courts of Justice last year.