Birdlife yesterday distanced itself from a last-minute study on the spring migration of turtle dove and quail commissioned by the Environment Authority, describing it as another example of decisions being taken behind closed doors and without proper discussion in the Ornis Committee.

Birdlife said it received an invitation last Thursday from an environment consultancy firm appointed to carry out the study, giving Birdlife until today to confirm its participation.

The NGO said the invitation came without any prior consultation and without any justification for commissioning it justdays before another springhunting season could potentially open.

A phone call to the company’s director by Birdlife last Friday revealed that the consultancy firm was approached by Mepa only very recently with a deadline to start the survey on April 9.

“Mepa has left almost no time for concerned parties to contribute to the methodology of the proposed study and take an informed decision before they can commit their resources,” Birdlife Malta president Joseph Mangion said.

Last year, Mepa had commissioned the same consultancyfirm to conduct a similar study in May, missing out on the peak migration periods of turtle dove and quail in April.

“Mepa’s so-called study suggests that birds should be counted by a hunter, a Birdlife ornithologist and a third person. Yet, when it comes to the counts of shot or trapped birds, Mepa conveniently relies solely on hunters and trappers’ declarations. This alone shows Mepa’s double standards and its bias towards the hunting lobby,” added Mr Mangion.

Birdlife claimed the proposed turtle dove and quail migration study would be based on the “flawed methodology” of the government study initiated in 2007 to justify its spring hunting derogations. If Mepa were interested in studying the importance of Malta for turtle dove and quail migration, the employed methodology would have the backing of professional ornithological institutions, Mr Mangion said.