Spring hunting of Turtle-doves recommended by Ornis Committee

BirdLife Malta has said that the Ornis Committee has voted to recommend “yet another spring hunting season on the Vulnerable European Turtle-dove (and Common Quail).”

It is now up to the Government to take the final decision. BirdLife said that its proposal for a moratorium on the spring hunting ^[1] of Turtle-doves was “shot down” during Tuesday’s meeting.

The NGO said that the Ornis Committee recommended to open a spring hunting season on Turtle-dove and Quail, with BirdLife Malta voting against, ERA – Environment & Resources Authority abstaining and the rest of the Committee including the Chairman voting in favour of Federazzjoni Kaccaturi Nassaba Konservazzjonisti – FKNK’s proposal to open a season similar to last year.

Hunting for Quail will be between the 10th and 30th of April and Turtle-dove between the 17th and 30th of April.

Despite a “lengthy discussion” on the conservation status report presented by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) to the Committee which sustains that Italian populations of Turtle-dove are stable, BirdLife Malta said that it highlighted the various risks in opening a hunting season on the species.

These, BirdLife said, included the “documented decline in the population across various other countries from where Turtle-doves originate, and the fact that the European Commission’s Task Force on the Recovery of Birds, and the European Commission itself are indicating Malta is in breach of the European Birds Directive in opening such a spring hunting season when ignoring the Vulnerable conservation status of the Turtle Dove.”

BirdLife Malta said it also highlighted to the Committee that a recommendation to open a spring hunting season from the 10th April on the Common Quail, “was being done in the absence of reported catches of Quail in the previous autumn which were not presented to the Committee; as well as would ignore regulations binding the Committee to make recommendations opening a season no shorter than two weeks ahead.”

BirdLife stated that “today’s Ornis Committee recommendation was in fact being done just eight days ahead of the potential opening of a season, after Committee meetings kept being postponed to this day.”

Photo: BLM/Aaron Tanti