The Government has said that it disagrees with the European Commission’s interpretation concerning the application of derogation under Article 9(1)(c) of the EU Birds Directive to permit, under strictly supervised conditions, live-capturing of seven species of finches.

The finch live-capturing season will open as announced previously by the Government, it said.

“Malta is prepared to defend its right to derogate throughout the infringement procedure.”

It said that following the recommendation of the Ornis Committee, Government enacted a comprehensive legal regime to regulate application of derogation. “All trapping sites were screened for compliance with the legal parameters established in new legislation, and a comprehensive digital database was developed for enforcement purposes.”

The Government added that it “has also implemented necessary control measures, including state of the art real time telephonic game reporting system, a system of single-use rings, bag limits, a range of limitations and controls concerning permitted methods of capture, configuration and location of live-capturing stations, a rigorous licensing process, and other provisions.”

Penalties for offences have been increased substantially. Over sixty enforcement officers who received specialised training are being deployed to enforce derogation parameters, it said.

The Government stated that it “will continue to defend legitimate rights of Maltese live-capturers in full accordance with the national and EU law, and will ensure rigorous adherence to and enforcement of derogation parameters.”

File photo: BirdLife Malta

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