The Labour Party would open the spring hunting season on the lines proposed by the government's consultative body on hunting, which recommended a three-week season this year.
"Labour would adopt the expert advice of the Ornis Committee and open the spring hunting season according to parameters based on scientific data and approach. We firmly believe this can be done in accordance with EU rules," a spokesman for Labour leader Joseph Muscat said when contacted.
The Ornis Committee this year recommended a hunting season extending between April 10 and 30 with bag limits of 10,837 quails and 22,298 turtle doves.
However, the government opted for a much shorter season spanning six days and limited to just 2,500 hunters who would be able to shoot a total of about 7,000 birds. There are about 10,000 registered hunters.
Hunters and environmentalists, for opposing reasons, shot down the government's decision with the former describing it as "obscene" and the latter "farcical".
Labour has accused Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi of reneging on his party's electoral promise to allow hunters the right to enjoy their hobby in spring.
"What baffles everyone is the ever-changing and unpredictable flip-flopping of Lawrence Gonzi on this and many other issues," the Labour spokesman said.
The Prime Minister has hinted this year's decision was intended to test the ground with the European Commission before opening a three-week season next year. He said no agreement was reached with the Commission and talks would continue.
A Commission official said on Monday the six-day season was "acceptable in principle" as long as all conditions were fully enforced. Originally, the government was toying with the idea of opening the season for 20 days, however, sources close to the Commission said this was not well received in Brussels so the government had to scale down its original plans.
The hunting federation, FKNK, yesterday hit out at the German-based anti-hunting organisation, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, for announcing it was sending eight bird guards to monitor Malta's spring hunting season.
CABS was worried that turtle doves and quails had greatly declined in Germany, FKNK said, but was not bothered to look into the causes of the decline of the species in their country.
"The implication that the decline of turtle doves and quails in Germany was linked to Maltese spring hunting was a false assumption with no basis in reality," FKNK said.
Four hunting organisations have instructed members not to apply for the 2,500 special licences and warned hunters they would be named and shamed if they submitted their names.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com