September 10 is D-Day for spring hunting...

"The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is expected to deliver a verdict on whether Malta must permanently ban spring hunting on September 10.

"...the government permitted hunting to continue in three consecutive spring seasons after accession - in 2005, 2006 and 2007...

"...the Commission issued urgent measures ordering Malta to discontinue hunting in spring until the court case was decided.

"Factbox

"...due to massacre on protected birds."

All these statements, including the title, published in your issue of July 12, are incorrect.

The ECJ has no jurisdiction to remove Malta's right as an EU member state to apply a derogation in future to allow hunting in spring, so September 10 cannot be D-Day for spring hunting.

The ECJ is expected to deliver a verdict on whether Malta incorrectly applied a derogation to allow hunting in spring in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, and not just for 2005, 2006 and 2007. The Commission was not authorised to issue urgent measures to order Malta to discontinue hunting in spring until the court case is decided.

The Commission could only make such a request to the ECJ, which the ECJ chose to impose only for the spring of 2008. Spring hunting in 2009 was not permitted as a direct decision of the Maltese government, and although the measure had been threatened by the Commission, the ECJ did not impose it.

The claimed massacre of May 10, 2007, when a collective punishment on all hunters was imposed by the government, has to date not produced a single shred of evidence in shot protected birds and no-one has been arraigned in court.

The factbox should have commenced with the official guarantees regarding the continuance of spring hunting made by the Maltese government prior to Malta's EU membership. Official guarantees which all point to a preconceived plan and that have not been kept as time has shown.

Any Maltese government that considers the rights of its citizens to be more important than its pride, and with a determined political will can apply a derogation to permit spring hunting in future.

This is even more achievable were the government to: (1) supply the best available new data regarding harvested turtle doves and quails in both spring and autumn of 2007 as detailed in the comparative study carried out by the Federation for Hunting and Conservation - Malta (FKNK) and published in 2008; and (2) adopt the FKNK's latest proposals detailed to the two main political party leaders, which are based on principles lauded by the EU and include compensatory or putting back into the wild conservation measures aimed at finding satisfactory solutions for one and all.