The Sunday Times article titled ‘Limited Spring Hunting’ of last Sunday was misleading the public by wrongly claiming that ‘The European Commission is to permit Malta to reopen a limited hunting season this spring,’ BirdLife Malta stated today (1).

BirdLife Malta said that this claim was incorrect as the Commission itself does not have the authority to permit or stop member states from applying derogations, but can only consider derogations and then take Member States to court where necessary as it had already done in the case of Malta. The article however clearly revealed that Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was determined to open the spring hunting season this year.

During the Commission’s visit to Malta last October, the Commission representatives openly stated that it would be ready to assist the Maltese government with its next steps following the ECJ ruling for the correct implementation of the Birds Directive in Malta.

“It is ultimately the Maltese government’s decision to take the serious risk of applying a derogation which may lead Malta to being taken to the European Court of Justice a second time. Therefore the government should not try to put the burden on the European Commission any more as it has been doing for many years to appease the hunting lobby in Malta,” said BirdLife Malta President Joseph Mangion.

The conservation organisation pointed to the fact that opening another spring hunting season, despite the ECJ ruling which found Malta’s previous derogation unlawful, could result in hefty fines at the expense of Maltese tax payers (2).

“If the Office of the Prime Minister has any idea how Malta could meet all the conditions for a lawful derogation, then we expect the OPM to reveal the details of such a plan to the public before a decision is taken,” Mangion said.

BirdLife Malta reminded the Prime Minister that in Europe both the Turtle Dove and Common Quail are listed as Species of Conservation Concern in the Commission’s own Hunting Guide, thus their hunting in spring can not be lawful according to the Birds Directive (3).

“Furthermore with the proven record of inadequate law enforcement of hunting laws in Malta, we wonder how Dr Gonzi thinks that Malta could meet all the conditions of the Birds Directive. It is about time that the Prime Minister respects the EU nature conservation laws and the will of the majority of the Maltese people who do not want another spring hunting season,” Mangion concluded.

Notes: 1) Sunday Times article titled “Limited Spring Hunting” can be viewed at http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20100131/local/limited-spring-hunting-season

2) Article 260 of the Lisbon Treaty Article 260; “If the Commission considers that the Member State concerned has not taken the necessary measures to comply with the judgment of the Court, it may bring the case before the Court after giving that State the opportunity to submit its observations. It shall specify the amount of the lump sum or penalty payment to be paid by the Member State concerned which it considers appropriate in the circumstances.” To see the full Article please click on:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:12008E260:EN:NOT

3) The status of these species at a Global level as ‘Least Concern’, which is often used as an argument by the hunting lobby, is irrelevant within the context of derogations applied against the Birds Directive. As explained in the EC Hunting Guide for the Birds Directive, under section 3.5.40; ”Derogations should not be granted for species or populations with an unfavourable conservation status, which are declining within the European Union (or in a Member State considering exercising such derogations), whose area of distribution (breeding or wintering) is contracting, or with very low population levels, unless it can be clearly demonstrated that use of such derogations are beneficial to the conservation status of the species/population concerned.”

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