The European Commission has requested Malta to bring its hunting legislation into line with EU rules on the conservation of wild birds.

The case concerns Malta's decision to apply a derogation to the EU Birds Directive, allowing the live capture (i.e. trapping) of seven species of wild finches as from 2014.

Member States may derogate from the requirement of strict protection only in the absence of other satisfactory solutions, and provided that the population of the species concerned is maintained at a satisfactory level.

As these conditions are not met in this case, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice in October 2014, urging Malta to refrain from finch trapping.

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. If Malta fails to act within two months, the case may be referred to the EU Court of Justice.

BirdLife Malta this afternoon welcomed the European Commission’s intervention on finch trapping, calling for the government to heed the warning and ban the practice.

The formal warning requests Malta to end finch trapping or face legal action at the European Court of Justice, and comes after the Ornis Committee yesterday (27 May) recommended that trapping be continued this autumn. The Ornis Committee made their recommendation despite knowing that it would escalate EC legal proceedings against Malta. BirdLife Malta was the only member of the committee to vote against it.

Nicholas Barbara, BirdLife Malta’s Conservation Manager and Ornis Committee member, said “The committee were fully aware of the open EC case against Malta on finch trapping, and so the FKNK, MEPA and three government-appointed independent members voted to approve finch trapping in full awareness that they were placing the country at risk of a court case in the European Court of Justice. We urge the government to heed the EC’s warning, and ban finch trapping now.”

The Ornis Committee also refused to endorse a limit on the number of trapping licences that can be issued. Mr Barbara said this could see a further increase in the number of trappers, and yet more degradation of land in the countryside for use as trapping sites.

Their recommendation also failed to include provision for better enforcement, after a report released by the government’s Wild Birds Regulation Unit suggested that last autumn’s finch trapping season was rife with false reporting. The highest declarations of birds caught came on the very last days of the season, when the threat of early closure had passed. Independent studies showed no corresponding increase in the numbers of birds migrating through Malta at that time.

Nicholas Barbara continued: “The European Commission does not believe that the trapping of wild finches for recreational purposes is a justified practice. BirdLife Malta will continue to put pressure on both the Maltese government and on the European Commission to ban finch trapping once and for all”.