Reports sent to the European Commission on the spring hunting derogation over the past three years consistently show a spike in hunters’ SMS reports in the last three days of the season, raising concerns on the data’s validity.
During the spring hunting season, hunters are legally obliged to report shot birds immediately via a text message to the authorities.
But for three years in a row, the bulk of SMS reports lodged occur at the end of the season, leading to suspicion that hunters are not reporting shot birds early in the season to avoid quotas being reached.
SMS reports of turtle doves shot 2011 – 2013.Hunting migrating birds on their return to breed in Europe in spring is illegal under the Birds Directive, but derogations (or exceptions) may be made where strict conditions are enforced – including the number of birds that can be killed.
Accurate reporting to the EU on the number of birds shot is crucial to avoid punitive fines.
The Wild Birds Regulation Unit, set up under the Environment Ministry to oversee the implementation of government policy on hunting, acknowledged this discrepancy.
Pressed for an explanation, a spokesman for the unit said: “It is an issue we have looked into quite closely. According to feedback we got from the hunters, the most plausible explanation would be that more hunters were actually present in the field in those last days of the season because of the proximity to a public holiday.”
The SMS system is completely flawed
That explanation was included in the country’s reports to the European Commission.
Yet, conservationists monitoring spring hunting illegalities in the field have an alternative interpretation of the data.
“The increased reporting at the end of the 2013 spring hunting season was similarly registered in 2011 and 2012, and continues to show how the SMS system is completely flawed given the hunters’ own reluctance to faithfully report catches earlier in the season for fear of national bag quotas being reached,” Birdlife Malta said.
Such concerns are amplified when the SMS reporting on hunting is compared to data from a study on migratory birds simultaneously being conducted during the spring hunting seasons.
Peaks in bird migration ought to correlate with peaks in SMS reports on hunting.
In fact, this occurs quite consistently, until the last days in the season when SMS reports on targeted birds shoot up even when bird migration is low.
Government recently said Malta deploys one of the most elaborate and rigorous hunting bag verification and control regimes anywhere in Europe.
But the data that Malta sends to the European Commission to justify the derogation is dependent on hunters honestly self-reporting their kills.
The authorities insist there are multiple levels of control. Hunters have to report shot birds in their carnet de chasse and send a text message to the authorities.
Both tools hinge on hunters’ compliance, but spot checks in the field aim to address any under-reporting, the Wild Bird Regulations Unit said.
Turtle dove and quail migration vs declared shots in 2013.A spokesman said inspections in the field have doubled this year and penalties are harsher: “We are reasonably confident that the reporting reflected trends.
“However, we cannot ignore claims that seek to undermine the whole system.”
The spring hunting season for turtle dove and quail opened on April 12 and will last until the end of the month. The quota this year is 11,000 turtle doves and 5,000 quail to be shared among 9,798 spring hunting licenses.
This translates into half a quail and one turtle dove per hunter.