BirdLife Malta has said in a statement that it is “proposing a moratorium on the spring hunting of the Vulnerable European Turtle-dove in view of scientific evidence pointing to the species’ continued decline.”

The request, which it said is backed by a detailed report, will be tabled at an ORNIS Committee meeting being held next week to discuss the upcoming spring hunting season on Turtle-dove.

The NGO added that the meeting will be held on Tuesday, the 2nd of April, after it was postponed twice from the 20th and the 27th of March.

BirdLife Malta explained that it had already submitted this report to Committee members prior to the first planned meeting in March. The detailed report focuses on the Turtle-dove and documents the situation of its status and the reasons why the species should be protected during the crucial period of spring migration.

In line with the findings of this report, BirdLife Malta said it has tabled a motion requesting the Maltese Government to re-introduce a moratorium on the spring hunting on Turtle-dove.

“This will be voted upon at the same meeting during which a discussion will also take place on proposals to open a spring hunting season and a trapping season on Turtle-doves that were tabled by hunting federation FKNK, the NGO said.

BirdLife argued that “the proposal to trap and keep Turtle-doves for captive breeding is yet another of FKNK’s attempts at pushing the Government to ignore the EU experts’ plight at halting the taking of this species across all Europe. Malta had been stopped from continuing the trapping of Turtle-doves in the past by way of an Infringement Procedure.”

FKNK’s proposal to continue the spring hunting of Turtle-doves also risks bringing the spring hunting season closer to a European Court of Justice (ECJ) case, given the European Commission has a separate Infringement Procedure with an additional Letter of Formal Notice issued against Malta in February 2023.

BirdLife Malta said that its report on the conservation status of the European Turtle-dove contains data from recognised bodies such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the European Bird Census Council (EBCC) and the PanEuropean Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) that it said, “clearly shows the constant decline of the Turtle-dove.”

It also refers to the annual report that is issued by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) and “documents various flaws in it, which are used to justify a spring hunting derogation,” the NGO said.

In its conclusions, BirdLife Malta said the report lists nine reasons why a spring hunting season on the Vulnerable Turtle-dove should not be enacted, and requests a moratorium on hunting on this species.

Photo: Shot Turtle-dove recovered during the spring hunting season (Photo by BirdLife Malta)

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