Trapping sites being set up, BirdLife says

Trapping sites in Malta and Gozo are being readied for spring migration even though the EU Accession Treaty banned trapping as from this year, according to BirdLife Malta.

The conservation group said such sites had been seen at Delimara, Magħtab, Miżieb, Dingli cliffs and Majjistral National Park and that the police removed several trapping nets in these areas following reports from BirdLife and the public.

"Unattended nets pose a danger to wildlife as birds and other animals (such as snakes), which can get caught and die tangled in the nets.

"In the last few weeks, dead birds have been recorded entangled at several sites with unattended nets in both Malta and Gozo," BirdLife said.

"The Accession Treaty Agreement Malta signed in 2004 clearly states that trapping cannot continue. The government has so far not opened the trapping season but it has also not changed the national legislation to ban trapping in Malta," said BirdLife Malta's campaigns coordinator Geoffrey Saliba. "This inaction by the government is leading some trappers to hope for the season to be opened."

He insisted that the Prime Minister needed to communicate the government's position on trapping and make the necessary changes to the national legislation to ban trapping in line with the Accession Treaty.

The secretary of the Federation for Hunting and Conservation, Lino Farrugia, said that just because a trapper was clearing the area around his trap did not mean he intended to trap. Moreover, the government had taken a position on the subject when it signed the treaty, he added.

The government has failed to state clearly whether it will ban spring hunting permanently. When asked for such a declaration a spokesman only said the government had no plans to open the season this year.

The Office of the Prime Minister was again asked to clarify the government's position. A spokesman said cryptically: "The most important premise is the observance of the law".