The government’s decision to give hunters a five-year licensing window implies an intention to retain the same hunting and trapping practices currently in force for years to come, conservationists warned yesterday.
The controversial announcement was made despite Malta facing the European Court of Justice following the government’s reintroduction of trapping, which is in breach of the Birds Directive.
“The five-year licensing issue makes one believe that all hunting and trapping possibilities found this year will be available for the next five years despite the legal action Malta is already facing on this front,” Birdlife chief executive Mark Sultana told the Times of Malta.
He was reacting to the government’s announcement that the renewal of hunting and trapping licences would no longer be done every year and would cost hunters around 50 per cent less.
Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes said the reform was part of the government’s commitment to reduce bureaucracy and improve law enforcement.
Mr Sultana, however, questioned the reasoning behind the government’s decision, particularly in light of legal proceedings the country was already facing over trapping by the European Commission.
The government, he said, was also coming under heavy pressure to stop spring hunting following the change of the turtle dove’s status to vulnerable.
“It is legitimate to question whether the government intends to reopen trapping and spring hunting seasons in the coming years in view of these changes,” he said.
Hunters will make significant savings under the new licensing system.
Mr Galdes said certain sections of the new licence were 50 per cent cheaper with most licences now costing just €50 every five years.
Asked why the government had decided to review the licence system, Mr Galdes said the old licence was simply a receipt against payment which was inserted in the carnet de chasse, the hunters’ catch reporting booklet.
The new card, however, was an official ID document and importantly included a photo to help in law enforcement. Pressed on why the government had decided to drop the annual renewal requirement, Mr Galdes said this would save both hunters and the government money.
Mr Galdes yesterday also announced a new hunting reporting system.
He said the carnet de chasse system, a booklet which hunters submit annually and is checked manually, was being scrapped for an “avant-garde” digital system.
Hunters will instead be given slips with all legal hunting species and corresponding codes. They will then report catches to the new system using their phone and the data will be compiled in real time as opposed to over several months.
While the new system does not address hunters’ and trappers’ intent to honestly report their catch, the Wild Birds Regulation Unit said it would certainly facilitate the compilation of data from the government’s end.
Birdlife, however, expressed concerns over the new system.
Mr Sultana said that checks conducted to ensure hunters adequately report their catches, would now “more than ever” rely on the enforcement afforded by the already stretched Administrative Law Enforcement unit (the police unit that deals with environmental crime).
The electronic game reporting system also fell short of providing information on hunting effort. In the old carnet de chasse system hunters were obliged to record hunting days even when no catches were made, a statistic useful for authorities to report on hunting seasons and derogations.