The European Commission has today announced new action (see below) to be taken against Malta following the Government’s decision last spring to reopen a spring hunting season for European Turtle-dove.
In a statement on Wednesday, BirdLife Malta said that between 10th and 30th April 2022, the Government opened a spring hunting season for Quail and also for Turtle-dove, following the lifting of a moratorium thanks to which hunting for Turtle-dove – a species classified as Vulnerable to Extinction – had not been allowed since 2017.
BirdLife said that some time ago, the Commission announced its decision to send an additional Letter of Formal Notice to the Maltese Government in which it calls on the Government to cease spring hunting for Turtle-dove.
It added that “with this latest development, the Commission has extended its action against Malta to also cover the Turtle-dove following a similar warning sent to the Maltese Government in December 2020 [1] when the season was opened for Common Quail.”
“The Commission’s statement clearly states that this is an additional warning by the Commission to also address its concerns regarding spring hunting of Turtle-dove because last April Malta extended the spring hunting derogation to cover the Turtle-dove. Malta was given two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised,” BirdLife said.
This means that the Malta Government has until the 15th of April to respond, which possibly clashes with the dates when the spring hunting season usually opens, BirdLife said. Last year, the season was opened between 10th and 30th April. Whilst hunting for Quail was allowed during all the days of the season, hunting for Turtle-dove was permitted from the 17th onwards.
A Letter of Formal Notice is the first of three steps in an Infringement Procedure initiated by the European Commission against an EU Member State when there is a breach of the environmental laws, in this case the European Birds Directive.
Following this, in the absence of a satisfactory response, the next step would be a Reasoned Opinion and if the Government continues to ignore the EC and does not rectify its position, the last step would be a court case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Today’s action announced by the EC “once again proves BirdLife Malta right,” it said. Last November BirdLife Malta took the Government to Court [2] to challenge the decision to open a spring hunting season on Turtle-dove in April 2022.
In the court case, BirdLife Malta is requesting the Maltese Courts to declare this practice as illegal, in a bid to stop once and for all the spring hunting of Turtle-dove.
European Commission calls on Malta to cease spring hunting of turtle dove
Today, the European Commission decided to send an additional letter of formal notice to Malta (INFR(2020)2345) for spring hunting of turtle dove and to correctly apply the Birds Directive (Directive 2009/147/EC).
The directive requires a general system of protection for wild birds and allows derogations only subject to strict conditions. The European Green Deal and the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aim for the EU to halt biodiversity loss by protecting and restoring nature.
The EC said that “Malta has authorised derogations for the hunting of quail since 2011, and the live-capturing of golden plover and song thrush since 2012, and also failed to establish a general system of protection of wild birds against illegal killing and capturing.”
Therefore, it said, “a letter of formal notice was sent on 3 December 2020. On 8 April 2022, Malta extended the spring hunting derogation to cover the turtle dove. This derogation fails to comply with the conditions laid down in the Birds Directive, and goes against the ongoing conservation efforts of the Member States and the Commission.”
To also address its concerns regarding spring hunting of turtle dove, the Commission said that it is now sending an additional letter of formal notice to Malta, which has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised.
In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission said it “may decide to issue a reasoned opinion.”
File photo: BirdLife Malta