The Parliamentary Secretariat for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, in a statement has said that it welcomes the decision of the European Commission to close the Infringement case, which was opened in respect of Malta on the application for derogation of spring hunting.

Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes said that this decision “is the fruit of the work done in the last two years, including the effectiveness of the controls and enforcement in respect of irregularities by irresponsible people, as well as the collection of information and compilation of scientific reports concerning migratory birds on our island.”

He stated that “while under Nationalist Administrations derogations have been systematically misapplied, resulting in Malta coming before the European Court of Justice, the Labour Government has successfully applied the derogation for spring hunting and convinced the European Commission to close the Infringement case, through enforcement and other measures introduced to curb illegalities.”

“These same measures, as well as the collaboration with the hunter’s associations and other non-governmental organisations, led to the irregularities related to hunting being reduced, compared to what was happening before 2013, thereby Malta gained back credibility in the eyes of the European Commission in this sector,” Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes concluded.

Yesterday, the European Commission issued a warning to Malta over finch trapping, saying that it had requested Malta to bring its hunting legislation into line with EU rules on the conservation of wild birds.

The Commission sent a letter of formal notice in October 2014, urging Malta to refrain from finch trapping.

The EC said that Malta went ahead with the derogation as planned and does not agree with the Commission’s position, so the Commission is now sending a reasoned opinion.

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