BirdLife Malta said that it has today launched a legal challenge to spring hunting in Malta by filing a Judicial Protest in the Maltese courts, while at the same time in Brussels, a delegation representing 39 MEPs met with EU Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik, to call on the European Commission to suspend any further derogations to allow spring hunting.

In the Judicial Protest filed with the courts this morning, BirdLife Malta argued that successive Maltese governments have repeatedly failed to satisfy the conditions of Malta’s own National Framework Legislation, which sets out the criteria that must legally be met in order for a spring hunting season to be opened.

“The primary condition that must be met before spring hunting can even be considered to be legal is that there must be no detrimental impact on the European populations of the species hunted,” said Nicholas Barbara, BirdLife Malta’s Conservation Manager. “But the Legislation completely neglects to take account of the unfavourable conservation status of Turtle Doves and Quail in Europe.”“Instead, the Framework Legislation refers incorrectly to the global conservation status of the species. This is used to justify spring hunting in Malta and it is completely wrong,” said Mr Barbara, “The Framework Legislation itself is based on flawed and unscientific data.”

BirdLife went on to argue that successive spring hunting derogations have systematically failed to meet several other conditions specified by the Framework Legislation.

“The opening of a hunting season in spring for Turtle Dove and Quail is dependent on the number of these birds reported shot and bagged by hunters in autumn,” said Mr Barbara, “but these figures have been shown to be unreliable.”

“The government acknowledges this fact but then continues to base its decision to allow spring hunting on these very same figures.”

Mr Barbara added, “during the spring hunting season itself, the failure of the authorities to prevent the widespread illegal killing of protected species year after year under cover of the legal season, and the lack of adequate and verifiable controls and monitoring to limit the numbers of Turtle Dove and Quail killed, both indicate the failure to meet two further conditions of the Legislation.”

“We have already raised all of these issues with the Malta Ornis Committee and the Wild Birds Regulations Unit, but they have just been brushed aside”, said Mr Barbara. “It is clear that these serious concerns were not receiving proper consideration by the responsible authorities, so we have been forced to take them to the Judiciary instead.”

Meanwhile, in Brussels, similar arguments were put to the EU Environment Commissioner, Janez Potocnik, on behalf of the 39 MEPs from 11 countries who signed a letter last month calling for the European Commission to immediately suspend any further derogations to allow spring hunting in Malta.

“It is clear that many MEPs from across Europe are extremely concerned about the impact of spring hunting in Malta on Europe’s birds,” said Steve Micklewright, BirdLife Malta’s Executive Director.

“While we continue to hope that the Maltese government might respond to the concerns being raised and take appropriate action to suspend spring hunting in Malta, we have to be realistic about this prospect given the established position of Castille,” said Mr Micklewright.

“A public referendum is consistently emerging as the only way spring hunting can be challenged and perhaps it is the best way for the issue to be decided after all – in a fair and democratic poll of Maltese voters,” Mr Micklewright concluded.

Photographs – BirdLife; Bottom image of graph supplied by BirdLife Malta, “Overview of Carnet De Chasse records over the years for the spring hunting season: evidence that the majority hunters are abusing the system by not reporting birds they kill. In 2013 there were nearly 10,000 licensed hunters. The time period compared each year is the same.”

BLM said that, “one of the conditions that must legally be satisfied for spring hunting derogation to be considered is the limiting of number of Turtle Dove and Quail taken. This graph shows that the authorities have no idea how many birds are killed in spring. Sources: Carnet de Chasse reports by MEPA, 2002 – 2012; Report on the outcome of the 2013 spring hunting season (WBRU, 2013).”

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