Christian Peregin
Way clear for limited spring hunting
'Meeting was satisfactory'
The government's advisory body on hunting has decided "in principle" to recommend that the government allows a limited spring hunting season under certain conditions.
The Ornis Committee's recommendation is for an April 10-30 season and a bag limit of 22,298 for turtle dove and 10,837 for quail, according to BirdLife.
But the NGO, which was the only member of Ornis to issue a statement following the meeting yesterday evening, feels hard done by. It claimed the meeting was "farcical" and simply an attempt by the Prime Minister to "hide behind Ornis to open the spring hunting season".
BirdLife refused to vote on whether to agree in principle with the recommendation, claiming that such a vote should not even have been taken.
An independent member on the committee also abstained but the vote passed.
The heated four-hour session scrutinised the proposals for sustainable hunting made by the hunters' federation.
BirdLife said the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa) proposed the three-week April season and the bag limits of 22,298 and 10,837.
Sources said Mepa had originally proposed a bag limit of 67,000 birds over a three-week open season but this was reduced through the discussion. The hunters argued for a five-week season and a bigger bag, the sources said.
However, when contacted, a spokesman for the hunters' federation said that although nobody was "over the moon", it was mostly satisfied with the discussion, regardless of its fast-moving voting process.
Malta last allowed spring hunting for quail and turtle dove over a six-week period in 2007. In 2008 and last year the season was closed pending consideration of the issue by the European Court.
The court ruled that the government was wrong in the way it applied a derogation from the EU's strict rules against spring hunting. However, its rejection of the European Commission's argument that autumn was a satisfactory alternative was interpreted by hunters as leaving the door open for spring hunting to resume.
Birdlife accused the Ornis chairman of "pushing" members to take a series of votes on another season based on FKNK and Mepa proposals, which Birdlife has always maintained were based on flawed calculations.
"To BirdLife's amazement, Mepa produced a proposal for a derogation which was not circulated but verbally communicated during the meeting," a spokesman said.
He pointed out that the Office of the Prime Minister had said it would study the court ruling before deciding whether to open another spring hunting season. But to date, the Ornis Committee had not been given any plan by the OPM.
"Today's Ornis meeting once again showed that decisions are taken at a higher level and Ornis is being used as a smokescreen. We would like to see how the Office of the Prime Minister will justify risking Malta being taken to the ECJ again," the spokesman said.
When asked whether he felt the meeting was satisfactory and conclusive, Ornis chairman Louis Cilia said it was and that the recommendations would be made to the government. It was then up to the government to decide what to do.
He pointed out that the decisions taken during the meeting were meant to be confidential.
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Joanna Miko
Mar 9th 2010, 19:33
Even you do not need to walk 2 hours to see hunters and trappers- today at Zonqor Point Marsaskala at 11.30,I was walking with my dog 20 meters away from homes-little path going down to sea side- trapping equipment settled,small crates with poor birds...
j.zammit
Mar 9th 2010, 17:28
With due respect.. may the hunters have their spring session... but...
Hunting season is currently closed, trapping season is currently closed... I still see hunters about as well as trapping equipment setup all along the coast... take a 2 hour walk along most of the more remote parts of the coast and you will come across them.
If hunting cannot be controlled out of season someone please explain how it can be controlled within the season.
Its now the responsibility of each hunter out there to look out for illegalities... if of course they want another chance at hunting
Sylvana Zarb Darmanin
Mar 5th 2010, 13:05
Nick Farrugia, don't worry - BLM will not disappoint you and will surely " publish and make public each and every injured protected bird they collect during this coming spring migration". I can just imagine their inflated reports! Sir, you must however realise that here we are discussing hunting for game in a legal manner. If you truly believe that the law-abiding hunters should in any way be held responsible and tarnished with the irresponsible behaviour of poachers, then you must also be prepared to put:
- responsible drivers in the same bag with irresponsible ones;
- responsible politicians in the same bag with irresponsible ones;
- responsible clergymen in the same bag with irresponsible ones;
- responsible judiciary in the same bag with irresponsible ones;
- responsible bird-watchers in the same bag with irresponsible ones.
The list goes on and on.
Finally, the Government may indeed justify a derogation for the opening of the Spring Hunting Season. Actually, the ECJ has provided the necessary tools!
Nick Farrugia
Mar 5th 2010, 10:10
This is just another loophole to kill protected species. We have seen it happen over all these years and our government never learns. I still have no idea how the government is going to justify this derogation. It is practically impossible especially with our background of lack of protection let alone all these new measures. I urge BLM to publish and make public each and every injured protected bird they collect during this coming spring migration.
Andrew Gatt
Mar 5th 2010, 08:43
@ N Lawrence...............if you think a poacher needs an open season to target protected birds 9which are protected all year round) I'm afraid your are naive in the extreme. The laws arre there and the penalties are severe.
Protected birds do not interest me one bit as a hunter. I take just as much pleasure from watching them as I do hunting game birds destined for the table.......pretty much like the rabbit, veal, beef , fish and chicken you probably consume. You just don't hunt them. Everything nicely priced, packaged and sanitised at the supermarke. No difference.
N.Lawrence
Mar 5th 2010, 04:34
@Andrew Gatt
What am I on about?
Oh come on, do you honestly believe that ONLY dove and quail will be shot at. You must be living in a fantasy land where all the rules and regulations are observed. The proof of my conviction will unfold when "the games" start.
Annalise Falzon
Mar 4th 2010, 23:37
What a pathetic proposal - spring shooting should be banned for good. Is it too much to hope that the Government shows some true will to finally put an end to this farce? Is anyone calculating the actual resources being wasted on a hobby of the few rather than on true priorities which our country must face sooner or later? What a waste of time and money! If the season opens again this April who is going to enforce the law and avoid the usual massacres? Not to mention the danger of walking anywhere in the countryside during a spell of good migration?
Johnny Xerri
Mar 4th 2010, 19:54
@ J Borg
What public land? Are you aware that most if not practically all public land is in the hands of bird watchers. Just consider that hunters cannot hunt in over 30 nature reserves, 50mtrs from roads & beaches, 200mt from buildings. What do think remains accessable to hunters. This apart from the fact that hunters pay taxes and licences, just like all the public.
If PN and PL are so 'against' the environmentalists, and if AD really protect the interest of the environmentalists, and furthermore if the environmentalists are as JBorg commonly claims i.e. 450000 less 17000 hunters, how come AD never managed more than 2 pence worth of votes.
@ NLawrence & Monica Gale
The season will be opened for quail and turtle doves. Perfectly legal game in any country and proven to be so abundent that they are classified as species of least conservation concern. Thus I cannot see why all the hassle from your part.
john formosa
Mar 4th 2010, 19:53
Dear Ms.Gale, kindly be more specific. Which are those species that the Maltese law is permitting to be hunted and are in danger of being extinct under the sunny maltese skies????? Have you ever questioned yourself who is the worst enemy of fauna?? Is it the hunter or the land exploiter, the uncontrolled use of abusive substances to raise better crops, or worst the intoxication of food in breeding areas????? I suggest you inform yourself before posting a comment. Let alone the beautiful sunny maltese skies because they are one of the most important factors tourists ask for when they are here.......
r sammut
Mar 4th 2010, 19:25
‘The Ornis Committee's recommendation is for an April 10-30 season and a bag limit of 22,298 for turtle dove and 10,837 for quail…’ Is that fact or according to BirdLife? How come all this authority from BridLife when all other Ornis members are keeping to the oath of secrecy until the final stages?
And yet BirdLife walked out of Ornis vote! Who are they to run Malta affairs their way or bust?
The totals mentioned are made up of numbers; from nil to perhaps a dozen or two. Yes there are even hunters who never bother to go out during a season! There is definitely no guaranteed bag when hunting in Malta. Considering the same time and effort were invested during past season, experience shows years differed; some reasonably good and other miserably scarce. And this when seasons had a two whole month duration!
If as BirdLife say their word as final in the bag limit of two turtledoves and a single quail per hunter for the duration of twenty days, then this whole matter will not be just ‘farcical’! Malta gets its place in the Guinness World Record as being the laughing stock for the entire world!
Sylvana Zarb Darmanin
Mar 4th 2010, 19:08
Primarily, I congratulate FKNK for this achievement. Thank you all for the hard work you have gone through to defend the Maltese hunters and the traditional pastime! You deserve the praise of all hunters, their families and all pro-hunting individuals. Well done!
BLM & Co, it is about time that you start facing the truth. You are indeed acting like disappointed kids!
J Borg, you now have to accept that you will have to share the public countryside with hunters. At least you just have to share it for 3 weeks. Just imagine the Nature reserves where you are barred from enjoying them except for Sundays!
Monica Gale, the Spring Hunting Season is for turtle-doves and quails! Madam, which country do you come from? If it happens to be the UK, I humbly ask you to have a look in your back garden!
Andrew Gatt
Mar 4th 2010, 18:05
@ N Lawrence.....what ARE you on about? What does Spring Hunting for turtle dove and quail have to do with protected species which are protected all year round?
Honestly, you lot spout off about anything and everything under the sun - apart from FACTS and TRUTHS.
And @ J Borg......just buy yourself some land, fence it off and stay in it! Spare us any more extracts from your broken, stale and biased record!
Monica Gale
Mar 4th 2010, 18:03
What is happening in Malta, is the mindless slaughter of endangered bird species for no other purpose than the few moments of perverted pleasure that inflicting death to any living thing brings to some people, mainly men. Ultimately, whatever I say will always bring a specious argument from those that want to continue eradicating endangered species. What I would like to see is their reasoned responses after the last of a specific species meets its end in the sunny skies of Malta.
Fabian Borg
Mar 4th 2010, 17:30
This are just advisory notes for the Prime Minister. There is nothing final.
One can only comment when the season is declared opened and with what conditions it is opened. One things that stands out is that the national bag limits mentioned are very poor compared to catches in other European Countries which was the reason Maltese Hunters are fighting for the right to hunt in spring.
N.Lawrence
Mar 4th 2010, 16:39
If I were an internationally protected species, I would fly VERY clear of Malta. We ALL know of it's reputation.
J. Borg
Mar 4th 2010, 16:23
if GonziPN is going to allow "way clear for spring hunting"...
this will effectively translate in "No Entry in the PUBLIC countryside"
Arnold Cassola was right to expose the back-licking by some exponents of the PN and PL.
Nonetheless if Gonzi is really thinking of writing off our countryside and well-being to please the "benevolent" hunting lobby - even at the expense of facing fines this time round - he is nailing his fate beyond any hope.
Joe Camilleri
Mar 4th 2010, 12:52
So according to BLM
The Govt, the ornis comitee, the ECJ and the FKNK, they are breaking the law.
U HALLUNA !!! HADT MA GHADU JEMMINKOM