The European Parliament yesterday approved a resolution which appeals to the Maltese government to comply with the EU directive on the protection of wild birds, with relevant community law and with the accession treaty.
During the debate, a number of members of the EP condemned every form of illegal hunting in EU member states.
The resolution on spring hunting and trapping of migratory birds in Malta, which was tabled by the Greens and the UEN (Union for a Europe of Nations) group, but which included other amendments, specifies that the EP has received several petitions against spring hunting and trapping of migratory birds in Malta.
A report on a European Parliament fact-finding mission last year concluded that certain efforts had been made by the Maltese authorities to bring national legislation and its application in compliance with community law. However, the sustainability and survival of populations of several species of migratory birds still faced serious threats from extensive illegal and indiscriminate hunting and trapping when birds of these species passed over Malta during their spring migration.
The resolution which was approved included amendments proposed by Maltese MEPs Simon Busuttil and Louis Grech.
Dr Busuttil, who tabled proposals on behalf of the Group of the European People’s Party and the European Democrats (EPP-ED), welcomed the Maltese government’s decision to curb abuse by introducing harsher punishments and increasing fines up to a maximum of e14,000.
Mr Grech’s proposals, which he presented on behalf of the Party of European Socialists (PES), included an appeal to both the Maltese government and the European Commission to publish full technical details and their position on the issue.
At present, the commission is investigating whether Malta’s transposition of Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds was in conformity with the requirements of the directive and whether the legislation was being applied correctly.
As a result, the commission has opened infringement procedures against Malta for lack of compliance with Article 9 of the directive and recommended that the government should not allow spring hunting this year.
The commission had also stated that if spring hunting was authorised in 2007, it intended to examine spring hunting that was also allowed in 2004, 2005 and 2006 and dispatch a Reasoned Opinion to Malta on the matter.
The resolution also noted that spring hunting and trapping was defended by Maltese hunters as part of their cultural tradition and that opinion polls appeared to show that a broad majority of Maltese society was against current hunting practices.
The original resolution included a paragraph in which the EP stated as regrettable the government’s decision to authorise spring hunting and trapping against the public advice of the commission, and called on the government to reconsider the decision, but this paragraph was not adopted.
While Maltese EPP-ED MEPs Simon Busuttil and David Casa voted against the resolution yesterday, PES MEPs Joseph Muscat, Louis Grech and John Attard Montalto abstained.
The resolution was adopted with 300 votes in favour, 253 against and 35 abstentions.