Updated March 26 - St Hubert's Hunters react

A mere 2,167 hunters and trappers reported catching game during the 2017 hunting seasons despite the existence of about 15,000 licencees.

In its annual Game Reporting Data report for last year, the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) noted that a total 3,054 specimens “belonging to huntable species” were reported caught, while another 9,422 were reported captured under live-capturing derogations.

For the autumn-winter bird hunting and rabbit hunting seasons, licensees were legally required to report any game they had caught before leaving the hunting area, the WRBU says in the report. For the seasons opened under the derogations for spring hunting and autumn live-capturing, licensees were required to report their bags immediately upon making a catch, which allowed for real-time data to be gathered.

A total of 7,729 telephone reports were received on the system from 2,167 individual callers, the WRBU said in the report.

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There were 10,467 hunters licensed to shoot on land, and 3,054 birds were shot between September 17 and January 18. This would mean that the vast majority of hunters did not shoot a single bird, according to the data.

An ornithology expert who spoke to this newspaper raised questions about the validity of the data, insisting that the number of catches reported appeared to be too low considering how many people were in possession of a licence. “A total of 4,534 trappers reported catching a total of 9,422 birds, just over two birds each, when the season was open for three whole months between October and December,” the expert pointed out.

In 2016, there were 7,369 birds reported trapped, with 4,552 hunters in possession of a general licence for live-capturing birds.

The report also shows that there were 2,626 people with a licence to hunt wild rabbits, yet between June and December 2017, only eight rabbits were reported shot.

The process of reporting all game caught by hunters was revamped to include telephone reports in 2016 following changes to the Conservation of Wild Birds law.

The telephone system replaced the previous obligation to report through the Carnet de Chasse, which was phased out earlier that same year.

Doves left in peace? 1,406 vs 101

The WBRU report shows that compared to the previous year, the reports of animals caught decreased significantly despite the limits remaining constant.

According to the reports for the past two years, the greatest drop was recorded for captured song thrushes.  While in 2016, hunters reported catching 8,735 in the season spanning October 2016 to January 2017, the figure dropped to 1,228 for the same period the following year despite the national bag limit for the song thrush being set at 5,000. No individual bag limit was imposed on hunters during the 2017/2018 season.

A drop was also noted in the number of turtle doves reported to have been caught. While 1,406 turtle doves were caught in 2016, the figure stood at 101 the next year. The drop could, however, be a result of the introduction of a moratorium on the hunting of turtle doves due to declining numbers.

Declining numbers were also noted for other species, mainly the woodcock, skylark, blackbird and the wild rabbit. Meanwhile, there was an increase in reports of trapping of the European greenfinch and the Eurasian siskin in 2017 compared to the previous year.

'System is the best in EU'

In a reaction published on Monday, St Hubert's Hunters said the telephone-based real-time reporting system used in Malta was "the most advanced and verifiable one throughout EU states." 

Comparing figures from one season to another, the group said, revealed a "lack of ornithological knowledge and an obvious devious purpose." 

The group said that many of the 15,000 licensed hunters and trappers did not go out regularly but continued to pay their licence fee to ensure it was not revoked. 

Last year's migratory season was a "dismal" one in terms of numbers, the group added.