The UK's largest pro-bird organisation, RSPB, congratulated Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi's "bold decision" to ban spring hunting for the second consecutive year pending a decision by the European Court of Justice.

The ECJ is still considering the case instituted by the European Commission against Malta in 2008. An oral hearing has been scheduled for May 7 so lawyers from the Commission and Malta can argue their position before a judgment is given.

Due to this pending legal case, Dr Gonzi last week announced that Malta would not be allowing hunting this spring in order not to prejudice the case at the ECJ.

Reacting to the news, the director of RSPB's international division, Alistair Gammell, said the organisation wanted to publicly congratulate Dr Gonzi's decision.

"Prime Minister Gonzi has taken a bold stance and he has our full support. No one ever believed that tackling illegal hunting on the islands would be easy but we believe this ban is a significant step forward towards the ultimate goal of giving protected migratory birds an easier journey across the islands," he said.

"The government's hunting ban this spring will save the lives of many birds but, perhaps, more importantly, we're taking this as a positive step forward in the long-running campaign to encourage Malta to honour international bird protection laws."

For the past years, RSPB has been working with partners, especially BirdLife Malta, to bring illegal hunting in Malta to an end. In January 2007, it delivered a petition bearing 115,000 signatures requesting an immediate halt to illegal spring hunting and for Malta to comply with the EU's Birds Directive.

Mr Gammell hoped Maltese hunters, like their counterparts in the EU, would respect the Birds Directive.

"This will benefit the conservation of wild birds across Europe and there will be more birds in the autumn, when hunters can hunt legally," he said.

This is the second consecutive spring season in which hunting is banned. Last year, the ECJ had ordered Malta not to allow the opening of the spring hunting season due to the pending court case.

Although the ECJ's ban covered just last year, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas had recently warned the Maltese authorities the Commission would again ask the ECJ to issue urgency measures if Malta decided to open the season.