Turtle dove hunting has already started although the season has not yet officially opened, BirdLife said Wednesday.

Nicholas Barbara, Head of Conservation at Birdlife, said that foreign volunteers at the NGO have already observed such a practice, although the season officially opens on 17 April.

Despite the spring hunting season officially commencing today and lasting until the end of April, the turtle dove hunting season begins on the 17th.

Barbara noted that pressure from hunters has led to the shifting of dates for spring quail hunting to coincide with the migration of turtle doves from Africa, which typically occurs during the last two weeks of April in Malta.

Barbara indicated that despite the moratorium on turtle dove hunting from 2017 to 2022, the bird population did not recover. This argument was also used by State Advocate Chris Soler in arguments made during the court action instituted by BirdLife to stop the opening of the hunting season, a call that was rejected by the courts.

Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale rejected BirdLife's request to prevent the Maltese government from openingthe spring hunting season for the European Turtle-dove in 2024, as recommended by the ORNIS Committee.

In a nine-page decree, the judge also overturned a decision made five days ago, where the court had provisionally accepted BirdLife Malta's request for a Warrant of Prohibitory Injunction to halt the season on this vulnerable species.

 

In rejecting the injunction, Justice Francesco Depasquale acknowledged the decline in the turtle dove population but expressed skepticism regarding the claim that the primary cause of the species' decline could be attributed mainly to "two weeks of hunting in April on the tiny island of Malta, which this court observes is nothing more than a rock in a big sea dividing Africa and Europe."

Birdlife President Darryl Grima on Wednesday commented that the data collected over the years on the number of turtle doves hunted is inaccurate. He mentioned that almost every year, coincidentally, the quota set for turtle doves is always filled. Grima explained that the quota per year is less than 1,000 turtle doves for the entire season.

He expressed frustration, stating, "It's surreal; we have a democratic collapse," referring to the government's use of data that Grima believes does not accurately reflect the true number of turtle doves being hunted.

The NGO’s president emphasised that they are not against hunting per se but are always in favour of nature. Grima noted that Malta is the only country in the EU that allows spring hunting for turtle doves, which he considers the worst time to hunt this vulnerable species. He explained that during the last two weeks of April, when they migrate from Africa to other countries, the species already experiences a decline in numbers due to natural selection during the crossing. He argued that hunting them in autumn, after natural selection has occurred and they have already bred, would be more appropriate.

Another argument presented during the case was that since the moratorium was imposed, there has been no recovery in the numbers of turtle doves, suggesting that those being hunted during spring may be coming from Italy, where the species' numbers are seemingly recovering. However, Grima stated that while this could be the case, there is no way to determine the origin of a turtle dove since it could come from anywhere.

On his part, Birdlife Head of Land Management, Mark Gauci, stated that only the strongest among the turtle doves manage to migrate back after spending the winter in Africa to avoid the European summer and reproduce. He mentioned that national reserves like Tas-Simar become resting spots for turtle doves to recover and rebuild their fat reserves before departing again for their long journey.