Updated 7.55pm - Added Roderick Galdes statement

Animal Rights parliamentary secretary Roderick Galdes has drawn the ire of BirdLife Malta after official photos showed him posing alongside bird trappers to promote one of their events. 

Calling Mr Galdes' behaviour "unacceptable", BirdLife Malta said Mr Galdes had opted to stand side-by-side with a person convicted of being in possession of 20 carcasses of protected birds. 

Mr Galdes posted about the event on his Facebook page.

"Rather than distancing himself from those who do not respect our environment and conservation laws, the Hon. Galdes opts to organise events with them," the NGO said in a statement. "This dents the credibility of the Hon. Galdes when stating that he is fighting illegalities in relation to nature laws."

Mr Galdes was posing alongside organisers of a bird trapping symposium due to be held tomorrow in Buskett. The event will feature exhibits of birds and hunting dogs, a discussion about bird trapping and an address by an FKNK official.  

The parliamentary secretary shared the photos on his Facebook page as well as that of his parliamentary secretariat.  

In a reply issued by his secretariat, Mr Galdes said that the Buskett activity encouraged legal trapping in line with a Maltese derogation to the EU Birds Directive and sought to educate the public about this "sociocultural tradition". 

Mr Galdes' portfolio was not limited to animal rights but also included rural development, the statement said, "which hunters and trappers are important stakeholders in and which the government cares about."

Malta and the European Commission have clashed over the legality of finch trapping, with Brussels insisting there are no grounds for Malta to allow the practice. The case is currently before the European Court of Justice. 

This is not the first time that Mr Galdes has been accused of having his priorities mixed up. Back in January 2016, the Animal Rights parliamentary secretary fell foul of animal rights activists after he lent his support to a taxidermist event which also featured internationally-protected items such as a rhinoceros carcass and elephant tusks.

In its statement, BirdLife Malta said that it would be contesting the legality of tomorrow's bird trapping event, "since it will be organised in a nature reserve which is a Natura 2000 site." It said it would be asking the Environment and Resources Authority where it stood on the matter, and urged the Prime Minister to "stand by his words" and lead an environmentally-conscious government.