Brussels could outlaw bird trapping once and for all because of the hunting community’s reluctance to obey the rules, government experts fear. 

Sources in the Environment Ministry told The Sunday Times of Malta that months of high-level negotiations between Malta and the European Commission to secure the return of the controversial autumn bird trapping season could all have been in vain, as a spike in arrests has already caught Brussels’ eye.   

Meanwhile, a rift has developed between the government and the hunting community in recent weeks as trappers are displeased with the conditions under which they are being made to lay their nets. 

As trappers complain about stricter enforcement under the supervision of “biased” conservationists, irate members of the government have described the hunting community as “ungrateful”.  

“We bent over backwards to get this season open and now they don’t want to work with us,” one government source huffed. 

Members of the hunting community, on the other hand, said that if the government thought it was going to shift its poor deal onto them, then they had another think coming.  

Last month, Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary Clint Camilleri popped the cork on this year’s trapping season, announcing that following lengthy negotiations with the Commission, hunters would once again be able to lay their nets for two species of unprotected bird: the golden plover and song thrush. 

The move came just a few weeks after the European Court of Justice ruled that the season for another species, protected finches, went against EU rules and could no longer be permitted on the island.  

On announcing the opening of the season for unprotected birds, Mr Camilleri had urged trappers not to let him down and to follow the strict rules negotiated with Brussels.  

This season has seen the government agree to increase enforcement dramatically as well as allow conservationist NGOs to accompany the police during onsite visits across the Maltese countryside. 

Official figures show that during the first few days of the season, police presence increased by 40 per cent, regularly accompanied by NGO bird watchers turned ‘police watchers’. 

It is important that trappers understand what is at stake

The reform has already shown results with 10 arrests in the first few days of the season, all of whom will now face court action.

By way of comparison, no one had been arrested in the first week of the 2017 trapping season. 

Among the recent arrests, sources said, was one trapper, found with 200 illegally caught birds, who locked himself in his trapper’s cabin when the police arrived on the scene accompanied by environmentalists. 

An Environment Ministry spokesperson said only that the government was strictly adhering to the measures agreed with the Commission.

Government sources, meanwhile, expressed concern about the level of arrests so far. 

“If the level of illegalities does not dip, then we are concerned that the Commission will move for the season to be shut down. It would be a big blow after all the time and effort that went into getting this season for trappers in the first place,” said one government source involved in the negotiations to open the season. 

Meanwhile, a source in the European Commission’s Environment Directorate said the matter was on their radar and a “free for all” would not be tolerated. The source said that Brussels would meet with the government when the current season closed next month and if the situation appeared to be out of hand, future seasons were not likely to be on the cards.

The Commission, the source added, could even take the matter to the European Court of Justice as it had done for other species, ensuring that the practice of bird trapping would become a thing of the past if concerns over illegalities persisted.  

Contacted yesterday, Joe Perici Calascione, the president of the Hunters’ Federation FKNK, said he unreservedly condemned any form of illegalities.

“Whoever is breaking the law is doing a lot of damage and is no friend to hunters and trappers of goodwill,” he said.

Mr Perici Calascione however added that the FKNK was “adamantly against” the idea of members of “biased” conservationist groups accompanying law enforcement. 

“Our right to privacy is no less than that of any other citizen, so why we should be subject to this unfair treatment is beyond me,” he said.

As for the number of arrests in the opening days of the season, Mr Perici Calascione said the 10 trappers would now face court and this meant they were still innocent until proven guilty. 

“As usual we are hearing one end of the story, no one is hearing the complaints from our members of harassment, rather than enforcement or surveillance – not by the police who were doing their job, but by anti-hunting interests who have always exaggerated the situation,” he said. 

In a brief comment to The Sunday Times of Malta, Parliamentary Secretary Camilleri said illegalities by trappers would not be tolerated. 

The government, he said, was committed to continue implementing enforcement of the measures that had been signed off on by Brussels, and this was non-negotiable.

“Following weeks of negotiations with the Commission, an agreement was reached and we intend to fully respect that agreement. It is important that trappers understand what is at stake if illegalities persist.” he said.