The turtle dove hunting season was halted on Saturday, 19 days earlier than expected as the national catch quota of 500 turtle doves established by law had been reached.

The Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) in a statement on Sunday, said that this had been communicated by the WBRU (Wild Birds Regulation Unit) to licensed hunters via SMS.

The hunters’ lobby stated that “this does not mean that hunters can no longer go out hunting in September.”

It argued that, “however, it means that contrary to what the European Commission (EC) is saying, turtle doves in the wild are on the increase.”

“This is because in the September 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons, the catch of turtle doves in Malta never exceeded 300 birds,” the lobby said.

“Therefore, and among other valid reasons, that is why the FKNK has publicly expressed reservations regarding the law establishing the national quota of 500,” it said.

“The misfortune of all this is that the research programmes on turtle doves launched by FKNK for September 2021 will also cease. In fact, research into whether the bird being caught is a juvenile or an adult will also have to stop, while the wing research, which FKNK launched just a couple of days ago via the MyHunt mobile app with collaboration with Hunter & Co., ceases abruptly,” the huners’ lobby said.

The FKNK thanked Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri and the WBRU “for their firm stance against the European Commission which wanted a total ban on dove hunting hunting in Europe.”

In fact, it said, “thanks to this position of Malta, the EC ban has been implemented in some countries in the western turtle dove flyway, including in Spain, France and Portugal, but not in Malta.”

The FKNK concluded by saying that it will “continue to work harder to reinstate the socio-cultural tradition of spring turtle dove hunting and trapping.”

File photo: BirdLife

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