Birdlife Malta has said that today’s amendments to Malta’s spring hunting legislation are the second such amendments in just a few weeks which were not discussed at the Ornis Committee. “This shows that the committee is nothing more than a smokescreen.”

These tactics show that the spring hunting issue is a political one, and this is bound to try the Commission’s patience, Birdlife said.

“The Commission last October issued a letter of Formal Notice in reaction to Malta’s Spring Hunting framework legislation, however rather than addressing the Commission’s concerns the government has made enforcement even more difficult through this latest legal amendment.”

Birdlife Malta went on to say “the government is also misinforming the Maltese taxpayer by stating that they have reached an agreement with the Commission on spring hunting. The Commission does not make agreements with member states on derogations and it is the country’s responsibility to ensure that any derogations applied are in accordance with EU legislation.”

BirdLife Malta concluded by saying it seriously doubts that the Commission will be pleased with the government’s current tactics.

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