A statement by the Prime Minister that he was committed to opening a three-week spring hunting season with a bag limit of 25,000 birds next year has been described as “outrageous” by BirdLife.

In a statement, the organisation said this statement, made on a television programme last Monday, was a complete contradiction of the Prime Minister’s previous stand justifying a six-day season this year.

In a letter to European Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik, BirdLife Malta drew attention to the fact that the Prime Minister’s decision announcing a three-week season in 2011 was in clear defiance of the Commission’s warning that this would land the country back at the European Court of Justice.

The Commission has already made it clear that if a three-week spring hunting season is opened, there was a possibility of legal action.

With his statement, the Prime Minister lifted the restrictions put on the season this spring, which were boycotted by the hunting lobby, completely surrendering to their demands.

“If Dr Gonzi thinks that a three-week spring hunting season is possible, then why did he open the season for only six days this year?

“The only thing that changed since the commission’s warning last April and the programme last Monday was that the Prime Minister has once again given into pressure from an aggressive hunting lobby,” BirdLife Malta president Joseph Mangion said.

BirdLife accused the Prime Minister of taking the country back to square one, with promises that could not be fulfilled without risking the country’s interests.

“Our Prime Minister is not trying to solve the spring hunting problem or protect the country’s interest but is fanning the flames of controversy.”

“These political games may yield positive results for the Maltese government, but what is at stake here is the proper implementation of the Birds Directive throughout the European Union,” Mr Mangion told Environment Commissioner Potocnik.

BirdLife Malta has submitted three reports to the Commission documenting the extent of illegal hunting this spring – within the six-day derogation period and in the weeks before.

The data shows that weak law enforcement fails to control the hunting illegalities, including the targeting of protected species that migrate over Malta to their European breeding grounds.