The European Commission yesterday said it was closely monitoring the situation in Malta in view of the allegations of widespread hunting illegalities.

However, it pointed out that the Government was ultimately responsible for enforcement.

It is surely desperate measures to call in soldiers

Brussels would analyse the reports received and a final derogation report that the Maltese authorities are expected to draw up at the end of the season.

“We have already reiterated the importance of effective and efficient enforcement on the ground to ensure that the conditions of the derogation are fully respected,” a Commission spokesman said yesterday.

“The Commission has no powers to intervene to close or suspend the spring hunting season because this is a matter of national competence,” he added.

“However, it should be recalled member States applying a derogation must submit a report to the Commission on the implementation of the conditions set out in the Birds Directive.”

The spring hunting season, which ends next week, is the first under the watch of the new Labour Administration.

Although the rules this season have only been slightly changed from last year’s – mainly by lifting a fee for a special licence and removing the need to wear an armband – the number of hunters has increased considerably, up by about 3,000 to 9,500.

Despite pressure by the hunters’ lobby, the Government decided to retain the same national bag limits: 11,000 turtle doves and 5,000 quails, although it promised to discuss the issue with Brussels with the intention of increasing it as from next season.

Commission sources, however, indicated that it would be difficult for the Government to argue for an increase if reports suggesting a free-for-all continued to be received.

“The EU executive had already made it clear that it has no intention of touching the national bag limits because it considers it sufficient and in line with the decision of the European Court of Justice,” the sources said.

“The fact that Brussels is being inundated with reports of widespread illegalities will surely not help the hunters’ cause,” the sources noted.

Malta is the only EU member State that invokes a derogation to the Birds Directive to allow hunting of turtle dove and quail in spring.

According to the rules, a report has to reach the Commission four weeks after the closure of the season, demonstrating that all the conditions for the derogation were met and that effective and efficient enforcement measures were taken on the ground.

The Commission’s spokesman said that Brussels would scrutin-ise this derogation report “together with any other reports that may be submitted by the relevant stakeholders with a view to seeing whether the derogation has been applied in line with the strict conditions of the EU’s Birds Directive”.

If the Commission is not satisfied it may decide to take Malta to the ECJ again.

Meanwhile, Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday called on the Government to close the season immediately in view of “the widespread massacre of protected bird species including birds of prey”.

According to AD spokesman Simon Galea, the Government is “ignoring the writing on the wall and refusing to acknowledge the sad reality”.

In its own statement, Birdlife said army personnel were deployed earlier this week to help the police control hunters.

This was another confirmation that illegal hunting was rife and that civilian authorities were unable to tackle the situation effectively, it said.

“It is surely desperate measures to call in soldiers who have no special training in dealing with wildlife crime to deal with what should be a matter for a properly equipped and trained wildlife crime unit,” a spokesman for Birdlife said.