Writing in his “Wild Notebook” in The Times yesterday, Simon Barnes said a turtle dove was always a cheering bird to see or hear.

Malta joined the European Union in 2004, but thought that it was perfectly all right to continue shooting 100,000 turtle doves every year, exhausted birds that rest in Malta during their long migrations. This, shockingly, was perfectly legal under Maltese law but not under European law.

Now, if the shooting takes place in Malta as early as next spring, the country will be taken to the European Court of Justice. And that should mean that the gentle turrr-turring of the doves will be heard more often in the UK where it has decreased by 70 per cent over 25 years.