Environmental organisations have slammed government statements that several other member states are applying exemptions to EU rules on finch trapping on an annual basis.
Birdlife Malta and the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) referred to a statement on Friday by the Parliamentary Secretariat for Animal Rights that European countries, including Austria, Spain, France and Italy “apply similar derogations involving finches on an annual basis”.
The government’s advisory body on hunting, the Ornis Committee, last week recommended an exemption from EU law based on a proposal that would allow the trapping of nearly 27,000 birds over two months starting in October.
None of them compares to that being considered in Malta
The trapping of finches on this scale is not what is being practised in other European countries, according to both Birdlife and CABS.
“While there are derogations in other EU member states, none of them compares in terms of scale, or even the reason why they trap, to that now being considered in Malta,” said Birdlife Conservation manager Nicholas Barbara.
The fact that trapping occurs in some European countries does not also mean that the derogation is justified or being applied correctly. Neither does it mean the European Commission is not pursuing infringement procedures against these countries, he pointed out.
In Austria, the few hundred trappers permitted a licence can only use small clap nets to catch one bird at a time, and the birds can only be kept in captivity for a limited period. By contrast, there are thousands of trappers in Malta and the clap nets used can catch multiple birds at one go, which is why the device is illegal under the EU’s Birds Directive.
Some regions in Spain apply derogations to trap goldfinch, but this is being phased out. The numbers of licences and birds caught need to be reduced year after year.
France has a problem with the trapping of Ortolan Bunting, a highly sought-after finch considered a delicacy. The practice, however, is illegal.
In Italy, some regions apply derogations, but it does not mean they are not challenged by the Commission, Birdlife said. For example, the Commission is pursuing a derogation on thrushes, even though this is a huntable species not protected in the same way as finches.
Infringement procedures on ‘limited’ trapping seasons permitted since 2009 are already open against Malta.
A spokesman for the Environment Commissioner told The Sunday Times of Malta the trapping of finches is prohibited under EU law: “Malta was given a transitional arrangement in the Accession Treaty to phase out this activity. The arrangement expired in 2008.”
Wild Birds Regulation Unit defended
The government was not trying to wiggle out of its EU obligations, the secretariat said yesterday as it defended the work of the Wild Birds Regulation Unit.
“It is unfathomable how one can credibly accuse the Wild Birds Regulation Unit, which compiled such detailed reports, of presenting only partial or incomplete information,” the secretariat said.
It was referring to reports on the secretariat’s refusal to publish the full legal advice it received on the feasibility of a derogation. Times of Malta requested this information through a Freedom of Information Act, which was refused within two hours.
This legal advice was never presented to the Ornis Committee in full prior to its decision to recommend a derogation. What was presented to them was a summary of the findings.
“These documents do not constitute official government position on finch trapping dossier, but merely a summary of the legal and technical assessment performed upon request of the Ornis Committee by a structure (the Wild Birds Regulation Unit) which acts as a secretariat to the committee’s work,” the secretariat said.
The Wild Bird Regulation Unit under Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes is led by ex-Mepa employee Sergei Golovkin. Its staff includes brothers Richard and Joseph Lia – the latter was a hunters’ federation council member until last July.
The government said it is evaluating the proposal and would announce its decision in due course.