Birdlife objects to FKNK bird ringing

Fabian Borg

May 2nd 2009, 13:44

After reading all through many mentioned that BLM are afraid of loosing Monopoly on Bird ringing in Malta. This is the only reason they have else why should Bird Life object to FKNK freeing birds and having data available from this.
I am sure that one of the rules of the EU is to reduce/eradicate Monopolies as we have seen this happening all along in our Ports, Airport, Transport, Communication so why is Bird ringing different.
The PN Government should seriously consider this as an Alternative to Bird Trapping and with the data collected it would strengthen its reasons to apply a derogation from the birds directive as the price paid by the bird species would be nothing compared to the data obtained to help Local and European ornithologists monitor the species and keep records of migration habits, wind effecting migration and so on.
Many local trappers have an immense knowledge of how birds behave, migrate, react to decoys, depending on weather conditions, even the type of clouds in the sky. Banning totally Bird trapping would mean loosing this precious information which many times is learnt from experience and passed on from Father to Son. A true Cultural Tradition.

M Borg

May 1st 2009, 23:34

@ T Mifsud.

As far as i am concerned the law states that a licensed person can legally trap birds in the open season. These birds were trapped legally. The law states that bird ringers need a licence since it is the norm that they trap birds using mist nets, which are only legal for ringers. Now the FKNK are ringing birds which trappers have themselves legally caught, and releasing them back ! Is this illegal??

the only agenda behind BLM is BUSINESS !!

Sylvana Zarb Darmanin

May 1st 2009, 21:25

Mr F Busuttil, I strongly believe that hunters and trappers should act according to their mind and not according to their heart in next June's MEP elections. Unkept guarantees should not be forgotten! If I am not mistaken, Dr John Attard Montalto has pledged his support to hunters and trappers and he has already proved this when he accompanied FKNK at the EU Petition Tribunal some time ago. Use your brains hunters and trappers!!!!

John Matthews

May 1st 2009, 10:19

@ T Mifsud

You have accused FKNK of "doing yet ANOTHER ILLEGAL ACTIVITY"

CAN YOU PROVE THAT FKNK MEMBERS ARE THE ONES CARRYING OUT ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES?

If you can, and are not doing anything about it, makes you just as guilty. If you can't, and are only acting on hearsay or guesswork, may I suggest you go out and get the proof.

Talk about give a dog a bad name.

lgalea

May 1st 2009, 08:49

Does Birdlife want a monopoly because it is afraid that it may not be able to keep all the funds it is getting from various sources?

Andrew Gatt

Apr 30th 2009, 23:04

Unbelievable. Birdlife object to trapping birds. Birdlife object to releasing birds! Just like petty spoilsports pouting in a corner. The policies and agends of this NGO seem so much more anti-hunters-and-trappers than pro-birds!

What really gets me is the free hand given to these people, accomodating them left, right and centre. Their "thank you" is sensationalism, exaggatarion, bad-mouthing Malta, banners at football matches, a network of organisationa and indivuals doing the same all over the internet, lies, misinformation , myths about migration and breeding and on an on and on...

And the latest are their CABS buddies, self-declared abolitionists, screaming murder about a handful of incidents, poking their righteous noses into tiny Malta's issues, while their own country is the blackspot of Europe when it comes to raptor massacres.

Come to think of it, what is Birdlife's legal situation regarding the dead and injured birds they so gleefully display?

T Mifsud

Apr 30th 2009, 22:28

@MMB

Not now, but it was always illegal. Thallatx il-hass ..! Releasing of birds is fine. Ringing them by FKNK is not. Does FKNK have a licence accordng to Law?

YET AGAIN FKNK doing another ILEGAL ACTIVITY!

Sylvana Zarb Darmanin

Apr 30th 2009, 20:28

What are BirdLife exactly after? I would have expected them to be pleased with FKNK's action! Would It not have been better had BirdLife welcomed the way forward and start forgetting about monopolies, while encouraging FKNK to continue taking this initiative?

This is what I and many other readers would have expected from BirdLife if indeed they do not have a hidden agenda!!!

FKNK should start considering applying for EU funds to further nourish this initiative.

r sammut

Apr 30th 2009, 20:25

Ops, FKNK has crept into BLM domain. The bird lovers feel threatened that the may lose the centre stage. They do not want any relations with their rivals, let alone find common grounds for discussions.

The same reason why they did not let FKNK participate in the Foresta 2000!

f. busuttil

Apr 30th 2009, 19:47

Mr Casha can you please enlighten me - What's the difference between a trapper who captures birds, ring them and release them and one of the 18 BLM ringers who capture birds with the same traditional trapping methods, ring them and release them? Is it true that BLM officials are calling on traditional trappers to join them as ringers? So if they are not good as traditional trappers how can they be acceptable as ringers? This leads me to think that they pretend to know it all and to top it all these BLM foreigners pretend to obtain the monopoly of trapping/ringing. By the way Mr Caruana don't be a (J.A.M. 2) trying to get an easy political ride on the sincere passionate trappers!!!

Alfred Farrugia

Apr 30th 2009, 19:06

“A few countries have more than one scheme.”

http://www.euring.org/national_schemes/index.html

http://www.euring.org/national_schemes/contact_schemes.htm

In Europe, Denmark, Germany and Spain have more than one scheme. So there is nothing illegal in having more than one scheme in our country. FKNK should apply for official recognition. There is no reason why Birdlife Malta should have a monopoly on this issue. In some countries the scheme is operated by a government department!

Does Birdlife Malta not think that it is better for FKNK to ring birds and let them go instead of shooting on them? Birdlife Malta cannot have it both ways.

alex casha

Apr 30th 2009, 18:52

I dont find nothing wrong to ring a bird and relise it to the wild.FKNK means federation hunters and trappers conservazionist.so i dont find anything wrong at all.i wish that i could know where BLM want to arrive with these things,especialy when we are suffering from a world crises and BLM make a bad image to our island in a football ground,and many other things,some one explaine plsssssssssss

Fabian Borg

Apr 30th 2009, 18:45

Can Birdlife share with the public what amounts of Birds they have ringed in 2008.

Were there more ringed birds birds released in one day by FKNK that BLM released in a year?
If so this would prove that a catch/release program would be a really effective tool in monitoring bird migration and would shed more light on bird movements.
Also possibly it could be accepted by the EU as a tool for bird monitoring and collection of priceless data.
The more data input you have, the more precise your conclusions can be.
If the government with some sort of negotiable derogation manages to allow trapping where a percentage of the birds are ringed and set free our island could become the most concentrated ringing site in the world. Bird movements would be recorded elsewhere too and a more vast picture could be obtained of where birds come and go.
This is an idea which should be seriously considered and I hope that BLM will re-think their position as their old time enemies could become their ringing partners unless they see them as competition.

MARK MIFSUD BONNICI

Apr 30th 2009, 18:24

So now releasing legally trapped birds and ringing them is objectionable to Birdlfie Malta.

And then they expect the help of the law abiding hunter.

I hope all impartial people read this article, since it can only be considered as the perfect example of Birdlfie arrogance and downright stupidity.

Robert Micallef

Apr 30th 2009, 16:45

So why on principle a released bird from a hunting fraternity should be considered different from the one BLM released?
Aren't they both considered free birds?
Birdlife Malta is taking this too far, ok they do not want to share the government's limited funds with other ngo's but sometimes they are forgetting the true scope of thier orginasation- bildlife!

Joe Camilleri

Apr 30th 2009, 16:42

So if FKNK did not ring the birds, than according to birdlife, that was legal?

Now, any birder who catches these birds will know that they have been ringed by FKNK officials and if it pleases him, he could remove it and stick a 'EURING'

But the real thing is that now Birdlife Malta is afraid of losing its monopoly over birdringing. It is good to point out that the FKNK paid for this gesture out of its pockets and did not receive the millions of euros just to ring 13 yelowkan birds!!

J. Anastasi

Apr 30th 2009, 16:35

Now it's crystal clear, Birdlife are after their own egoistic interests and not our nature's interest. Birdlife should have congratulated FKNK for this deed. Pushing for enforcement clearly shows BLM's hidden agenda.

John Matthews

Apr 30th 2009, 16:32

Although I do not profess to know the legalities of bird ringing, Perhaps Birdlife Malta is afraid that FKNK are out to prove that some of their, (Birdlife Malta) propaganda can be disproved by this method. Only time will tell. I am neither a hunter or trapper but I earnestly believe in justice and democracy. I also believe that Malta and the Maltese people should govern their own country and not leave it to the Germans in particular and other foreigners in general, to speak for the Maltese nation.

M. Cardona

Apr 30th 2009, 15:55

The birds released by FHC (FKNK) had been legally captured (taken) in 2008. FHC collected these birds from their entitled keepers and released them back in the wild.

The threat by BLM is based on a technicality relating to LN 79 0f 2006 para 24 "bird ringing". Having a look there will put anyone in the picture as to why this storm in a tea cup by BLM which seeks exclusivity on so many issues. The threat alone should speak volumes about extremist attitudes and agendas!

And yet we get the usual BLM spokesperson asserting the need for reconciliation........WHATEVER!

So whilst preaching against illegal hunting or trapping, BLM attacks the very entity whose assistance could be so much more effective than any Wildlife Crime Unit they and their fellow CABS are now advocating. Then again if it were to be hunters themselves curtailing illegal hunting, BLM and CABS would be out of job (and if I may add FUNDS)! When will BLM learn we have to co-exist and not seek reciprocal extermination!

@ Ramon Casha - You seem to have misunderstood the whole episode.

Tony Caruana

Apr 30th 2009, 15:35

This is clearly BLM Stradegy. Or Birdlife or nothing. And to all those that jump to their defense be aware that once birlife has reached it's objectives with the hunters it will turn to other things like making Buskett and other places a no go area. They will fence it off like they did other places and then make a Symbolic open day... Out of season of course so no one disturb them.

And all with the blessing of GONZIPN

Duncan Sant

Apr 30th 2009, 15:30

@Antoine Grima
It's OBEYING THE LAW OR BREAKING THE LAW ... nothing else......

Antoine Grima

Apr 30th 2009, 15:13

It's MY WAY OR NO WAY with BLM

Ramon Casha

Apr 30th 2009, 15:02

Is it just me, or does this sound like an excuse to justify having trapping nets?

Since trapping became illegal, having nets is a dead giveaway - if you're caught with nets it's a pretty good indication that you were breaking the law. However with this neat little excuse they can continue trapping birds to their heart's content and then, if some enforcement official comes across their nets they can proudly show them a couple of ringed finches and they can get away with it.