Taxpayers have forked out around €750,000 for the spring hunting season since 2013, according to estimates derived from official figures. The spring hunting seasons of 2013 and 2014 each cost around €250,000, according to figures obtained by The Sunday Times of Malta.

Each season, over €100,000 in salaries are paid to enforcement officials, as well as a government unit of seven employees dedicated to ensuring a spring hunting season can open.

The law states that seven police officers must be deployed per 1,000 hunters during the open season and at least two officers per 1,000 hunters after hours.

In addition, every year Malta has to justify to the EU why it wants to implement an exemption to laws banning spring hunting – an exercise that costs close to another €100,000. Licences must also be processed for every season, amounting to some €34,000.

Additional costs such as overtime and allowances paid to enforcement officials, salaries of government officials, fuel and maintenance costs for vehicles and equipment, and court and prosecution fees for those caught hunting illegally are not taken into account as they are impossible to quantify accurately.

More in The Sunday Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com Premium.

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