Birdlife Malta has reported the Government to the European Commission for failing to provide vital information concerning the 2013 spring hunting season.
The Government has rejected the claims, saying that statistics must still be collected from the police and the planning authority and would be provided at the next Ornis Committee meeting.
It is deceptive to say the Government is refusing to publish figures
Every year, Birdlife reports to Brussels its analysis of the spring hunting derogation in relation to the correct application of the Birds Directive. Such reports rely on data being made available from government authorities regarding numbers of registered hunters, number of birds reported shot, and enforcement efforts, Birdlife conservation manager Nicholas Barbara said.
Birdlife said this information was promised to it through the Ornis Committee by June. Information was received from the Government Veterinary Division and the Armed Forces of Malta, but not from the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, the Derogation Monitoring Board within the Parliamentary Secretariat in charge of hunting matters, nor from the police.
Such information remains undisclosed despite the Government having already compiled and submitted such information in the format of a report to the Commission in June, Birdlife said.
Mr Barbara added: “We have never had a problem with obtaining such data before, but this year the Government is refusing to publish figures, giving the excuse that they are still the subject of ‘discussions’ between the European Commission and Malta.”
The data itself is not under discussion – facts and figures such as reported catches of Turtle Dove and Quail and police convictions cannot be altered subject to the Commission’s comments on the Government’s report, BLM said.
Birdlife said in the latest response from the Government, requests for data are now being referred to a new ‘Acting Head of the Wild Birds Regulation Unit’. This unit, it said, was set up within the Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Welfare, which has responsibility for compiling hunting derogation reports for the European Commission.
Birdlife executive director Steve Micklewright said: “We hope that the delay in data provision is not a sign that simple requests such as these for information that should be freely available in the public domain will be subject to ministerial interference and blocking tactics.”
In a reaction, the Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights Roderick Galdes urged Birdlife to be more responsible in its declarations.
“It is deceptive to say the Government is refusing to publish figures and by consequence to imply that the Government has something to hide.”
Mr Galdes also said Birdlife regularly attended meetings of the Derogation Monitoring Board set up by the Government.