The courts are failing to apply the statutory minimum fines for hunters and trappers caught breaking the law, Birdlife Malta said yesterday in a report submitted to government.
Birdlife carried out an analysis of the outcome of 388 court cases dealing with wild bird crime between 2006 and 2008, involving offences committed in 77 locations. In 34.5 per cent of the cases, fines were allocated which were below the minimum penalty outlined in the law.
In more than half the cases, those convicted received the minimum fine permissible by law. And in spite of the fact that a suspension of the licence for repeat offenders is a requirement by law, this only happened in 3.8 per cent of cases.
The fact that there is no centralised digital database within the courts to keep a record of repeat offenders hampered the ability of magistrates to adequately deal with individuals who consistently break the law, Birdlife said. This was one of a series of recommendations made to the government to improve law enforcement regarding illegal hunting and trapping. The report was prepared on the advice of wildlife crime experts, as well as ex-military and ex-police officers and lawyers in Malta and abroad.
Meanwhile, the government is considering opening another spring hunting season under 'strict supervision', which is only one of the many conditions set by the Birds Directive for a derogation.
The European Court of Justice ruled that the opening of the spring seasons since Malta joined the EU was unlawful. Malta lost the case, although the government is arguing that it is possible to open a "limited" spring hunting season under rigorous supervision.
"The current lack of resources means the police force can hardly cope with illegal hunting, let alone strictly supervise a derogation," Birdlife said.
Police figures showed that during two months in spring 2008, the ALE arraigned 161 individuals, while the entire district police force charged 14.
Birdlife also recommends the implementation of a tagging system for stuffed birds in hunters' possession to ensure there are no fresh specimens. It says the 500,000 birds declared to Mepa during the amnesties granted were never checked.
In the revision of firearms legislation, Birdlife says the Justice Ministry should also amend the laws granting shotgun licences so those acquiring these weapons are subjected to a course on weapons handling and health and safety issues to prevent further injuries.
Other recommendations made include public awareness campaigns, a 'hotline' dedicated to wild life crimes, army support to prevent wildlife crimes and the removal of illegally built hunting and trapping hides on public land and protected sites.