BirdLife Malta, in a statement on Monday, said that eight environmental non-governmental organisations (eNGOs) have expressed support for its call on the European Commissioner for Environment to uphold the rule of law in respecting a European Court of Justice verdict delivered on the 19th of September this year.

The verdict had found Malta guilty of breaching the EU Birds Directive when it permitted a “research derogation” in past autumns on finches, leaving a one-month deadline for the Government to respond on how it would implement the sentence.

The eNGOs said that the Government however, on the 20th of October re-opened the season on finches, permitting the same conditions as in previous years with some 3,500 trappers to trap finches using clap nets for a two-month period until the 20th of December.

“This is the second time in a matter of months where the Government is bulldozing arrogantly ahead against court decisions,” eNGOs stated

The eNGOs argued that “following Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti at the highest court decision in Malta on illegally built penthouses in Gozo, the Planning Authority has ‘legalised’ these two penthouses following application PA 3869/24. Ironically both the hunting derogations and the planning fall under Minister Clint Camilleri who seems to have been given freedom to ride roughshod on these matters by the Prime Minister Dr Robert Abela.”

The eNGOs insisted that “a legal notice permitting the finch trapping derogation only bears minimal changes compared to previous years, attempting to justify that there is no other alternative to research from where finches migrate, but to let all of Malta’s licenced trappers to continue trapping indiscriminately.”

“If Malta is at a state where our Government breaches environmental directives, is stopped by the European Court of Justice, and continues permitting such breaches for fear of losing political favour, then this country’s environmental future is in dire straits,” the eNGOs said.

The eNGOs called on the EU Commission “to scrutinise the goings-on in Malta and are backing BirdLife Malta’s demands to act as fast as possible with regards to the trapping derogation of seven species of finches.”

BirdLife Malta’s claims are being supported by Din l-Art Helwa, Moviment Graffiti, Nature Trust Malta, Malta Rangers Unit, Friends of the Earth Malta, Ramblers Association, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar and Ghawdix.

Photo: Arkiviji Protesta Nazzjonali Xebbajtuna – Photo: Aaron Tanti

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