According to the new Birdlife Malta (BLM) executive Paul Debono, “Spring hunting just has to stop”. Publicly declaring to push as hard he can for “the elimination of a spring hunting season in Malta” and “to fight tooth and nail to see it happen” is no short of a declaration confirming the use of any means possible in order to undermine Malta’s right to derogate according to the limitations of the Birds Directive.

The European court ruling of September 2009 confirmed the legality of Malta’s future derogations for spring hunting. It recognised Malta’s right given to any member state that satisfies the Birds Directive conditions to exercise derogation. Notwithstanding this and the Commission’s confirmation of last year derogation as being within the court’s ruling, BLM’s director still “asserts that spring hunting and trapping is expressively forbidden by the Birds Directive”.

Ironically, BLM traps birds for scientific purposes under derogation from the Birds Directive even in spring and uses means that are illegal for any trapper to use.

Totally contradicting his own words, Paul Debono goes on to say “derogations from several provisions from the Birds Directive can be applied by any member states if certain conditions are met”. So, while admitting that other member states do derogate, in the case of Malta he declared: ‘I will push as hard as I can for the elimination of a spring hunting season once and for all.” Malta is not the only EU state that derogates for spring hunting as he states. Clearly, such statements do no derive from sheer ignorance but are part of his trying to depict Malta as the lawless state only he and his partners can redeem.

Considering that BLM has repeatedly depicted the hunting situation in Malta as despicable, basing its accusations on its own mostly unverified and exaggerated fact, following their director’s statements to use any means possible, all of its future allegations need to be scrutinized with a fine-tooth comb. This explains why, for the second year in succession, the hunting organisations FKNK and KSU are insisting with the authorities that police accompany all participants of the hunter-watching camps being organised by BLM and its partners. Apart from vilifying Malta and its hunters irrespective of whether they observe the law or not, BLM persistently declares its mistrust in the government and the police who both confirm the true extent of the problem and criticize BLM’s excesses in this respect. If indeed BLM has nothing to hide and in view of its persistent criticism of prompt police action, what stops BLM from accepting the offer of police presence, even more so considering the offer to have all expenses paid has been made?

BLM’s antics and statements have over the years portrayed Malta’s government and its police force as fools incapable or unwilling to curtail a known problem. If the new BLM director expects to gain credibility for whatever Birdlife Malta intends staging this season in order to vilify hunters, his statements directed at illegalising “at all costs” what is perfectly legal have certainly made him and his organisation suspect.

We trust that following Paul Debono’s declaration, both the government and the police now realise that Birdlife will only have it their way and that any room for dialogue or consensus are not part of BLM’s agenda.

Mr Mifsud Bonnici is the secretary

of Saint Hubert Hunters