The government issued nearly 12,000 more rings to trappers than the total quota of birds permitted to be caught during the season, according to information tabled in Parliament.
Every wild finch trapped between October 20 and December 31 needs to be fitted with a ring issued by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit. This measure is meant to ensure every trapper sticks to his 10-finch quota.
The total number of finches that can be caught in the season is set at 27,500, yet the unit issued 38,598 rings for finch trapping.
By its nature trapping is more difficult to monitor than hunting.
While hunters can target one bird at a time, trappers are able to capture – if bird migration conditions allow it – more than their allowable quota in one attempt. Without a system of reconciliation between the permitted quota and the number of rings returned, it is difficult to make sure the quota is respected.
“You can always argue that each trapper is bound to his 10-finch quota but the fact that WBRU is providing more rings than the national quota permits means it is practically legalising the capture of these surplus finches,” Birdlife Malta told this newspaper.
For example, the quota for one finch species – hawfinch – is set at 500 birds, yet 4,332 rings were distributed to trappers for ringing. Police conducting spot checks on trappers can at most inspect whether finches caught have the rings provided by the government unit.
The fact that WBRU is providing more rings means it is practically legalising the capture of these surplus finches
If the quota of 500 hawfinches is reached (as happened last year), the police are not able to know whether the bird bearing the WBRU ring is part of the declared legal quota or whether it was caught illegaly after the quota was reached.
The problem stems from the large number of trapper licences, which leads to a situation where giving 10 rings to each trapper exceeds the quota.
So even if every trapper sticks to the individual legal limit, this may still result in thousands more birds caught.
The government issued nearly 5,000 licenses for the autumn trapping season – 3,877 for finch trapping and 1,122 for golden plover and song thrush.
Finch trapping was phased out in 2009 in line with Malta’s EU accession treaty but reintroduced last year after the Labour Party was voted into power.
When trapping was reintroduced the government re-opened the possibility for new people to register for a license, following a moratorium in place since 2013.
The finch trapping season was opened again this year despite the European Commission referring Malta to the European Court of Justice over infringements of the Birds Directive.