BirdLife Malta yesterday described the government’s performance in a meeting with the Commission in Brussels on spring hunting, as an embarrassment to Malta.
The NGO is also calling on the Maltese government to stop “succumbing to the threats by hunters and to act in the best interests of the Maltese public and the conservation of Maltese islands by banning spring hunting”.
The Maltese government was called to Brussels last Wednesday and was asked to provide explanations as to why it has still not presented the scientific data necessary to justify continued spring hunting in Malta. Once again, the government failed to provide answers in spite of the opening of an infringement process by the European Commission, BirdLife said.
Maltese officials simply reiterated Malta’s official position that “there is no alternative to spring hunting” based on a “scientific” study that is yet to be started but which the government assures the Commission will prove that spring hunting is essential to Malta, the NGO said.
“The government’s position in Brussels is an embarrassment and falls ridiculously short of its duty to protect the national interest,” said the president of BirdLife Malta, Joseph Mangion.
“The government’s performance was unprofessional and is an insult to the Maltese public. There is an obvious contradiction in promising a ‘scientific’ and ‘objective’ study where the conclusion is already predetermined.”
BirdLife added: “In Brussels, the government persisted in ignoring the will of the majority of the Maltese population, which is in favour of a ban on spring hunting. Instead, they defended only the interest of the side in government that is hanging on the mediocre number of votes represented by the hunting lobby in Malta. Their alliance with the hunters was evident in their appearance before the Commission.”
Dr Andre Raine, Conservation Manager for Birdlife Malta said: “It was obvious that the lack of data on the part of the government was due to the fact that it can’t provide the necessary scientific proof to show that Malta should be a special case when it comes to spring hunting.
“Moreover, continued reports of the widespread hunting of protected species strengthen the case for the infringement process against Malta. The country is facing serious repercussions for defying EU law in the interest of a few thousand hunters.”
However, a statement issued by the Maltese hunters’ federation, the FKNK, said the participants were satisfied with the way the discussion developed and with the quality of information provided.
The federation said that it “is likely that a follow-up meeting will take place soon (probably at the end of March in Malta) so that no time is wasted to improve the situation on the ground and to come to acceptable solutions in line with the obligations as well as the opportunities provided by the directive.”
FKNK said the meeting was not intended to “negotiate” particular political aspects but to provide an opportunity to clarify relevant provisions of the 1979 “Birds” Directive in relation to conservation and sustainable harvest of wild birds in Malta.
“A clear unanimous position was reached in support of proper enforcement measures, including appropriate penalties, in order to curtail the illegal killing of protected bird species – a practice which further gives Maltese hunters extremely negative publicity,” the federation said.