BirdLife accuse hunters of illegally occupying Miżieb

A pre-election letter dating back to 1986 saying hunters could hunt at Miżieb woodland did not amount to legal title over the vast area of land, as claimed by the hunters' federation, BirdLife Malta said yesterday.

A report drawn up by the bird conservation group says that the authorities had failed to produce any legal agreement showing the transfer of public land to the hunters' federation (FKNK).

Federation secretary Lino Farrugia disagreed, insisting that the 1986 arrangement was an agreement on Miżieb and L-Aħrax in Mellieħa. The agreement, he said, was confirmed after the 1987 election and was endorsed by then Deputy Prime Minister Guido de Marco.

He said the agreement designated the areas as hunting and trapping grounds and picnic areas to be used outside the hunting season by the public.

However, BirdLife Malta president Joseph Mangion insisted that the only document that existed to justify FKNK's claims was a 1986 letter by then Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici who, in the run-up to the general election, handed Miżieb over to hunters for use as a hunting area.

"There is no signed agreement anywhere, authorising the transfer of public land to FKNK and so the area is illegally occupied by hunters, who have built hundreds of illegal hides," he said, arguing that the area was out of bounds for people when hunting took place there.

The BirdLife report will shortly be presented to the authorities, including the Prime Minister.

Mr Mangion said no management plans were ever drafted and approved by the competent authorities for Miżieb as was the case with other stretches of public land handed over to NGOs by the government.

He said the management of public land by NGOs was only allowed after a formal, legal agreement, which imposed strict regulations for the management of the site. Management plans were prepared and agreed upon and actions could take place only in line with such plans, he said.

If the plans included activities such as erecting signs or building new structures, the NGO was obliged to send planned alterations to the Malta Environment and Planning Authority for permits, without which NGOs could not even put up a single sign. In the case of Miżieb, Mr Mangion added, FKNK seemed to be completely exempt from these rules and "signs just sprout up everywhere".

On this point, Mr Farrugia said the federation had commissioned a private company to draw up management plans for the area five years ago. "We passed on these plans to the Prime Minister and George Pullicino (then Environment Minister) two years ago and we are still waiting for their approval."

Mr Mangion said 256 illegal hunting and trapping hides were recorded at Miżieb, including some built of concrete and with iron doors. Some of the hides were built on the slopes within the boundaries of the Simar nature reserve in Xemxija, a bird sanctuary.

He said BirdLife Malta was calling on the authorities to clamp down on illegalities at Miżieb and draft a site management agreement similar to that of other areas of natural importance managed by non-governmental organisations.

The report highlighted instances of illegal hunting at Miżieb, including the massive find of dead protected birds last September.

It said that between January 2008 and last March, 478 illegal hunting and trapping incidents were recorded by BirdLife alone. These included 379 incidents of hunting out of season.