Amendments to hunting regulations introduced “by stealth” last month are making it difficult to pin down criminal behaviour, law enforcement officials have told The Sunday Times of Malta.
New rules introduced during the peak of summer, that went by largely unnoticed, decriminalised the possession of chemical substances and tools used for taxidermy.
Taxidermy is the main reason for the shooting of protected birds in the country, since they are embalmed and displayed as trophies. The rarer the bird is, hunters feel the more significant the achievement.
Law enforcement officers claimed the amendments were introduced by stealth, because they did not go through the public consultation process. This was an issue raised by Birdlife Malta soon after the changes to the law were announced.
A case in Mosta last week revealed the limitations on law enforcement introduced by the new law. When the police knocked on the taxidermist’s door in Constitution Street, they found stuffed unregistered protected birds.
Charges are being filed for possession of the birds but the police cannot proceed against the chemical substances and tools used for taxidermy found in his possession.
What are we supposed to do? Sit outside his door until he exceeds that number
That is because new rules state that no licence is needed if less than 30 birds per year are being embalmed.
If the number of protected birds found by law enforcement officials is less than that number, they cannot file charges even though the birds found in one instance can be a fraction of what the taxidermist holds in a year.
“This is nothing more than an attempt to cover up hunting irregularities. Taxidermy and the killing of protected species go hand-in-hand. But the new rules are almost impossible to enforce. What are we supposed to do? Sit outside his door until he exceeds that number?” a law enforcement official said.
The Mosta taxidermist already had a previous record – he had been convicted for keeping and stuffing protected birds.
“In the past, all taxidermists ever raided by the police were found to be operating illegally. Now anyone can have these substances and tools and home without a licence, unless we find more than 30 protected birds,” he added.
The validity of the new rules has been questioned since changes to the law must also first go through the public consultation process. Through the amendments, Wild Birds Regulation Unit officials have also granted themselves unprecedented powers of enforcement.
“Since its inception just two years ago, WBRU has eased legislation in favour of hunters and trappers, decriminalised the use of bird callers, re-opened a finch trapping season, allowed for increases in trapping licences, eased hunting and trapping licence examinations as well as rendered obsolete an afternoon curfew protecting birds of prey,” Birdlife said.
The organisation pointed out the unit could not act as the regulator while assuming enforcement powers.
“Impartial and effective enforcement is only possible when there is a complete separation between those legislating and those enforcing, and where there is no political interference,” Birdlife said.
Before these new rules were enacted, only Mepa inspectors and the police had enforcement powers. Mepa is the competent authority in charge of environmental enforcement under the Environment and Development Planning Act.
The changes were spearheaded by the head of the WBRU, Sergei Golovkin, who was appointed without a call for applications and in breach of Public Service Commission rules.