A few years back, the government announced, with much pomp and show, that it was making penalties for illegal hunting harsher than ever, in what was described as an effort to curb illegalities.

“This is great news,” some people said back then, although we were always sceptical about the result that harsher penalties would have because, as we have been saying for years now, harsher laws are useless unless backed up by proper enforcement.

2018 was a record year for hunting illegalities, with over 114 shot protected birds recovered. Yet it emerged this week that not a single hunter was prosecuted last year for the shooting of turtle doves, despite documented evidence.

Hunters were not allowed to shoot this particular species of bird last year, and neither are they allowed in the upcoming spring hunting season, which opens in a few days’ time.

The Ornis Committee decided a few weeks ago that hunters can only shoot for quail, yet Birdlife Malta warned that this year’s season dates will coincide directly with peak turtle dove migration. While the FKNK’s pleas for a turtle dove season were rejected, the bird conservation group believes that this year’s hunting season will serve as a “smokescreen” for the shooting of turtle dove.

This newspaper reported a few weeks ago how the much publicised catch reporting system failed miserably, and how enforcement has remained almost non-existent. While Birdlife and CABS volunteers patrol the countryside during open season and regularly film hunting illegalities, these cases are very rarely lead to prosecution. In some cases, the police arrive when it is too late and the evidence has already been removed from the scene by rogue hunters. Some cases are simply forgotten – we never get to know what happened to those caught committing illegalities on camera.

The problem with this is two-fold. Firstly, people who commit wildlife crimes are not brought to justice. Secondly – and this is more serious – these rogue hunters are practically being told that they can do whatever they like, and they will do just that, in full disrespect towards law-abiding hunters.

Though we were promised, several times, that enforcement would be stepped up and that the police unit that deals with wildlife crime would be beefed up, we have seen no such thing happen. How many of us have actually come across police units patrolling the countryside during an open season?

This government’s track record on wildlife protection is dismal to say the least. Yet we cannot blame this administration alone. Others before it have failed in an equally spectacular way.

Hunting illegalities this year started well before the opening of the spring hunting season. Just a couple of weeks ago Birdlife Malta received three injured protected birds, all of which were found by members of the public. This does not augur well for the upcoming season.

We truly hope that the authorities prove us wrong this time and that the illegal hunting problem is taken seriously, for a change.

One would also hope that the newly-elected President, George Vella, who said in his inaugural speech that the environment will be one of the main focus areas of his presidency, will use the clout his office holds and call upon the government to take this issue more seriously.