Bird science and BirdLife

In a "rare" reply to our criticism, BirdLife Malta's conservation manager, Andre' Raine (November 3) tried to clarify the meaning of "conservation status" and "rarity" based on what he considers to be scientific knowledge.

From the outset we wish to point out that the Federation for Hunting and Conservation - Malta (FKNK) has always condemned the killing of any protected non-huntable species, immaterial of its conservation status. We also consider the IUCN as being a trustworthy source of scientific data; and at no time, as Dr Raine alleges, did the FKNK attempt to discredit the IUCN Red List. On the contrary the IUCN data is often referred to by FKNK and St Hubert's Hunters (KSU) to discredit BirdLife Malta's attempts at twisting the facts.

Dr Raine refers to the shooting of a lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina) in Malta, and insists upon this bird's rarity in Europe. However, this eagle is primarily a European bird. Its range covers central, eastern and southeast Europe, eastwards to Iran. The IUCN gives it a classification of Least Concern because: "Although this species has declined, recent evidence indicates a partial recovery in the population... such that trends over the last three generations are not believed to approach the thresholds under IUCN Red List criterion A". So whereas Dr Raine considers it a European rarity, the IUCN does not, because its global population is largely its European population according to the IUCN data submitted by BirdLife International.

Dr Raine mentions the massive EU-funded conservation project in Brandenburg, Germany, for the lesser spotted eagle, but fails to mention the reason behind this project. Germany is notorious for raptor persecution.

The CABS website reports that: "All raptor species in Germany are still officially categorised as 'huntable wildlife".

For this reason Germany has been targeted as the only country within this eagle's European breeding grounds that requires EU-funded conservation. As opposed to Germany's 100, Poland boasts of 2,000 breeding pairs.

Dr Raine also refers to the quail (coturnix coturnix) and turtle dove (streptopelia turtur), and declares that "the conservation status of quail breeding in outer Mongolia, or the turtle doves of China, have no relevance to the conservation status of the birds which migrate over Malta".

The IUCN classifies the common quail as being globally of Least Concern, and the quails migrating over Malta forming part of the global population enjoy the same conservation status. That in the UK the quail is of Concern and a protected bird is as irrelevant to Malta as it is to Mongolia. Dr Raine's reference to turtledoves in China is also completely misplaced. Dr Raine should know that the turtle dove occurring in China, the oriental turtledove (streptopelia orientalis), is a totally different bird to that encountered in Europe. The conservation status of the turtle dove occurring in Malta (streptopelia turtur) quoted in the IUCN listing is that of Least Concern. That in the UK the turtledove is of Concern and protected is as much irrelevant to us in Malta as it is in China.

However, what Dr Raine is already trying to portray to the ignorant and gullible readers is the "rarity" in localised populations which situation never poses any conservation threat to any species that globally enjoy an otherwise healthy conservation status. This because in the very near future BirdLife (Malta) will intensify their next erroneous campaign against finches trapping. They will say that finches do not stay to breed locally because of the trapping that takes place in March. This notwithstanding that the populations of these finches run into millions; notwithstanding that we have already experienced three years in the early 1990s with no finches' trapping in March and no finches stayed to breed; notwithstanding that no trapping in March took place in 2007 and 2008 and again no finches stayed to breed as the FKNK demonstrated to local journalists last July at a press conference in Buskett gardens.

However, how would BirdLife (Malta) otherwise justify the €175,000 that the EU has just granted them for such a campaign!

BirdLife (Malta) chooses to ignore sound scientific data when convenient. BirdLife (Malta) also chooses to disregard all past Maltese ornithological studies and relies on the advice of a bird-biologist who may possess excellent knowledge of the birds of Bermuda but cannot differentiate between European and Chinese turtledoves.

Dr Raine ends his letter by stating that: "If any organisation is going to use scientific data to back up its arguments, then it should understand the basic and fundamental concepts involved before it does so." We fully concur.