Law enforcer for every 60 hunters

Nearly 100 law enforcement officials are monitoring the 6,000 hunters who applied for a spring hunting licence this year.

The police department responsible for enforcing hunting legislation, the Administrative Law Enforcement Unit, has been boosted by 23 more officers until the end of the month when the season closes. It is now composed of 50 police officers.

However, law enforcement is also boosted by 43 hunting marshals who have been appointed by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, responsible for coordinating the government’s hunting initiatives.

An Environment Ministry spokesman said the hunting marshals were members of the police corps and had executive powers to book or arrest people who broke the law.

“A training programme has been organised for the hunting marshals by the Environment Protection Directorate within Mepa,” she said.

And with BirdLife Malta organising a spring watch camp, hunters will also have more than 50 other observers monitoring and recording their actions.

The camp started on Sunday to coincide with the peak migration of wild birds over Malta and will see 50 foreign nationals joining Maltese birdwatchers. The BirdLife teams will be recording and reporting illegalities.

The spring hunting season opened on April 12 and will close on April 30. Hunters had to apply for a special spring hunting licence and some 6,000 from a hunting community of 10,000 paid the €50 to be able to hunt this year.

The government is allowing 11,000 turtle doves and 5,000 quails to be shot but hunters have daily and seasonal bag limits.

Each hunter can shoot a maximum of two birds a day and only four birds in the whole season. Hunters have to report shot birds by SMS and also record the catch on their carnet de chasse.

Spring hunting is allowed under strict conditions after the European Court of Justice had said the autumn season was not a satisfactory alternative.

The government has to submit justification to the European Commission every time it opens the spring season.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com