Brussels is “bullying” Malta not to adopt hunting and trapping derogations, hunting lobby officials have told European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella.
Hunting federation (FKNK) officials accused the European Commission of adopting “two weights and two measures” when it objected to the two exceptions applied by Malta on spring hunting and finch trapping.
“The Commission is using two weights and two measures… about 5,000 derogations are applied each year by different member states and Malta is being bullied not to apply an average of two derogations to permit traditional hunting and trapping practices,” the officials said in a discussion paper presented to Mr Vella at a meeting held on September 1.
The discussion paper was disseminated to the media yesterday and focuses on the two exceptions applied by Malta to the Birds Directive: spring hunting of turtle dove and quail and an autumn finch trapping season.
Malta had won its case in front of the European Court of Justice to open a limited and strictly controlled spring hunting season on turtle dove and quail after judges ruled in 2009 that autumn was not a satisfactory alternative. But the country is still battling its case for finch trapping.
The Commission took Malta to the ECJ last year after the government opened a limited trapping season for seven species of finches in 2014 and 2015. Trapping had stopped after 2008 and reintroduced for two non-finch species a few years later.
The finch trapping season opens towards the end of October and ends in December.
Meanwhile, hunters have another issue over the conservation status of the turtle dove, which prompted the FKNK to propose a moratorium on hunting of this species for spring 2017.
The decision followed a call for restrictions on the spring hunting of turtle dove by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as well as Mr Vella.
The European Commission was prepared to go to the ECJ again over the matter if Malta failed to curb turtle dove hunting in spring. FKNK told Mr Vella the limited number of turtle doves shot in Malta made no difference at all to their overall population, insisting the decline in numbers was attributable to farming practices on the continent and other issues unrelated to hunting.
The moratorium was intended to show that no hunting in Malta would have no impact on turtle dove populations and urged Mr Vella to see that other countries addressed the real threats.
The FKNK also informed Mr Vella of a project it was working on with the government to have a breeding programme for turtle doves to be released in the wild.
FKNK working on turtle dove breed-and-release programme
Turtle doves bred in captivity will be released back to the wild as part of a structured programme being discussed between the hunting federation and the government.
The initiative is part of the FKNK’s effort to compensate for the limited numbers hunted in spring after the turtle dove was reclassified as a vulnerable species last year.
FKNK chief executive Lino Farrugia said the details of the programme were being finalised with the government and EU funds may be sourced.
A breeding programme has been on the agenda since Malta joined the EU, but different administrations failed to do anything over the years.
Hunters have, on an individual basis, bred and released turtle doves back to the wild, but the latest effort spearheaded by the FKNK aims for a structured programme.
“The main objective is to organise a pool of locals who captive-breed turtle doves on a relatively large scale and who are willing to sell the birds’ offspring to the FKNK for eventual release into the wild,” Mr Farrugia said.
Those participating in the programme would be given instructions on what to feed the birds so that they are strong enough when released. The birds would be released after the spring hunting closes.
Turtle doves are known to reproduce at a steady rate in captivity, which can produce a large number of offspring, Mr Farrugia added.
kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com