Taking Malta for a ride (1)

In the article Hunting: Malta Taking The European Commission For A Ride (April 4), BirdLife Malta has been doing nothing but that themselves.

Clearly, BirdLife Malta has no other option left other than to undermine the perfectly legal use of a European directive- Mark Mifsud Bonnici, president, St Hubert Hunters, San Pawl tat-Tarġa

Having failed to disprove all evidence that satisfied the European Court of Justice that unequivocally ruled a spring hunting derogation possible, BirdLife now resorts to further untruths in what can only be termed as a farcical frenzy only fanatics are capable of.

BirdLife Malta distorts ornithological fact, its presumed expertise, even further to fuel its incessant attempt to put a halt to a perfectly legal derogation granted in the “specific circumstances of Malta” by stating that hunters have more than five months to hunt turtle dove and quail.

The recorded passage of turtle dove and quail, according to all reputable ornithologists, occurs between mid-August and mid-September in the case of dove and between mid-September and the end of October for quail.

Considering the hunting season starts on September 1, half of the turtle dove migratory period would have already occurred.

In the case of quail, a bird hunted with the use of dogs, the last two weeks of September considered to be the prime quail migration period, has for a number of years been subjected to an afternoon ban on hunting in order to accommodate raptor migration following the request of BirdLife Malta.

So, far from the five-month period, hunters only have a matter of a few weeks to hunt the two species.

Added to this, the prime reason for granting derogation by the ECJ was the lack of sufficient hunting opportunities in autumn on both species. Being supposedly an authority on bird migration, BirdLife should be the first to concur with all other ornithologists who unanimously declare a marked difference between autumn and spring migration of both species. But, here too, BirdLife would have all believe otherwise.

Why BirdLife decides to warp anything factual is quite obvious. It accuses hunters of under-reporting, the government of appeasing hunters, hunters of anarchy and mayhem and impertinently asks for the resignation of an impartial Ornis board chairman accusing him of incompetence.

If indeed BirdLife has a leg to stand on, what explains two consecutive derogations for spring hunting that met the Commission’s approval? Clearly, BirdLife Malta has no other option left other than to undermine the perfectly legal use of a European directive.

BirdLife asks “what further evidence was required for the European Commission to take action”. Clearly, the Commission only accepts true facts based on concrete evidence since all BirdLife “evidence”, so fervently collected, has served no purpose other than to fill garbage bags in Brussels.