“The result obtained from the data collected by the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK)showed without a doubt that turtle dove hunting in the autumn in the Maltese islands is sustainable,” the organisation said.

In a statement on Thursday, the FKNK claimed that the results taken from data collected voluntarily in September 2021, regarding whether the turtle doves that were caught were adults or juveniles, has shown that it is sustainable.

The FKNK added that “this result, together with other studies and research carried out by the FKNK also led to the fact that after a five-year break, we had a turtle dove hunting season again in spring 2022.”

The organisation said, hunters are again asked to voluntarily send an SMS to the FKNK on the number 99474503 whenever they catch a dove indicating whether it is adult or juvenile.

The FKNK stated that “once again the WBRU left until the eve of the opening of the hunting season on September 1, to publish a very long Notice about this season through a post on their Facebook page.”

The FKNK stated that, “with all due respect to the WBRU, this mode of operation does not augur well for the relationship and cooperation so desired by everyone, between the WBRU and the hunters and trappers.”

The Legal Notice is shown in full below:

“During the open season for hunting of turtle dove in September, hunters are legally required to report any turtle dove caught immediately through the telephone reporting system 8000 2020 (freephone) or, for those that make use of a smartphone, through the mobile app ‘Game Reporting MT’ which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.

This requisite is essential to allow for real-time monitoring of the national quota. All other huntable species during autumn (including wild rabbit) are to be reported before the hunter leaves the hunting location, even if they intend to return later that day.

During the month of September, hunters are also required to report if they were out hunting even if they did not catch anything (hunting effort). This applies to all hunting activities during September (including wild rabbit – see regulation 5(11)(c) of S.L.549.90), not just for turtle dove, and during any derogation period.

Hunting effort requires that before hunters leave the hunting location, they report their activity through one of the reporting systems, despite not catching anything and even if they intend to hunt again later during that same day. If a hunter has already reported game this is automatically considered as part of the hunting effort and therefore there is no need for a separate ‘hunting effort’ report on that occasion.

Hunting effort during September applies to each licence category. This means that if a hunter is licensed to hunt birds on land as well as wild rabbit and he caught any one of the huntable bird species, he is still required to report hunting effort under the licence for wild rabbit, and vice versa.

If a hunter does not go out hunting on any given day, no reports are to be made whatsoever. Hunters that do not report as requested will be subject to fines as stated in Schedule VIII of S.L. 549.42 and S.L.549.90.

Legal Notice 341/2021 limits autumn hunting of turtle dove during September with a national bag limit of 500 turtle doves. There are no individual bag limits.

As soon as the national quota is reached, the hunting season for turtle dove will immediately cease and each holder of a general licence to hunt birds on land will be informed by means of a text message on the number registered in his name with the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (the mobile number shown on the general licence card). https://legislation.mt/eli/ln/2021/341/eng

The game reporting system does not yet include a function to report adult or juvenile turtle doves. Follow any instructions provided by your hunting organisation to report adult and juvenile turtle doves bagged during September. Thank you for your cooperation.”

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