The Federation for Hunting & Conservation – Malta (FKNK) notes the discussions that ensued in Parliament on Tuesday between Environment Minister Mario de Marco, Nationalist MP Franco Debono and Labour MP Anthony Agius Decelis, regarding live-bird trapping, in particular to traditional live-finch trapping.

Dr de Marco should be informed that the FKNK has supplied numerous proposals and documentation to the Office of the Prime Minister and also to the Malta Ornis Committee regarding the continuation of traditional live-finch trapping by application of a correct derogation under the EU Birds Directive. Some of the proposals, dating from 2008, also included bird-ringing as is being proposed by Dr de Marco today, and which proposals apparently Dr Debono is also backing. 

To date, however, FKNK’s proposals have always fallen on deaf ears, also because BirdLife Malta would have nothing to do with them. BirdLife Malta’s odd 18-licensed bird-ringers of course would never accept to lose their monopoly of the local bird-ringing scheme, a scheme that is entrusted to national history museums in other European countries, except for Malta that is.

Regarding Dr Debono’s suggestion that the establishment of viable finch populations should also be looked into, in 2010, the FKNK worked intensively, together with scientists and biologists from the University of Malta, on an EU Life+ project intended to precisely establish a local viable finch population.  However, unlike BirdLife Malta’s Stop-Trapping Life+ project, which cost the European taxpayer something in the region of €375,000, FKNK’s project was rejected. 

It has also been reported that Dr Debono mentioned his initiative of the barn owl re-introduction. In 2010, the FKNK had again lodged another Life+ project which included such re-introduction, however like FKNK’s finches’ project this was also not accepted. Also, apparently, Dr Debono failed to mention that the FKNK was the main stakeholder, even supplying stock of breeding birds, in the barn owl project he mentions. Dr Debono should have added that this project seems to have come to a complete halt only due to a continuous string of obstacles and objections emanating from Mepa’s representatives..  

Furthermore, the European Union did not warn Malta not to permit trapping this autumn, but said that trapping may be permissible by the application of correct derogations.  If the European Union is correct in its assumptions, then, with regards to hunting and trapping derogations, last autumn, with the derogation for song thrush trapping, Malta would have incorrectly applied the derogation for the twelfth successive time.

Finally, with regards to trapping, the FKNK is not interested in screening or equivocal methodologies to try to permit trapping.  These have been tried and failed.  The FKNK will insist that the correct derogations are applied that meticulously take into account the parameters of Article 9 of the directive. Only in this manner can traditional trapping be reinstated in a format that is acceptable to the Commission and as guaranteed to the trappers prior to Malta’s EU membership, and simultaneously, at the time, tacitly endorsed by the EU.  

■ Lino Farrugia

Secretary General

FKNK