During a demonstration outside parliament on Monday evening, BirdLife Malta said that not one of the Members of Parliament has the courage to speak out against the damage inflicted by hunting in Malta.
This follows several reports of illegally shot protected birds over the past weeks. Birdlife Malta said that actual figures to date confirm the increasing trend which will probably make 2018 the worst year in the past six years for the illegal killing of protected birds.
Members of Parliament who were on their way to today’s parliamentary session were presented with information about the situation. Representatives from BirdLife Malta, including CEO Mark Sultana, were also seen holding placards showing dead birds and a sign saying ‘do not be scared of those who break the law.’
78 protected birds were illegal shot in 2018 BirdLife Malta noted, with these numbers being birds recovered by the public and confirmed shot by the government vet. The numbers may actually be higher due to cases not known, they said.
BirdLife Malta explained that this situation is the result of several factors including the lack of discipline amongst hunters, the fact that there is no specific section the Malta Police Corps which deals exclusively with environmental crime, and the changes in legislation which have weakened nature protection in Malta, in particular, the protection of birds.
Another reason, Birdlife Malta mentioned, is that the Government does not have the courage to restrain these illegalities and is staying silent. They also said that not only hunter have a vote in Malta but also others who have an environmental conscious. The latter, which are a substantial amount of citizens, are being ignored they said.
BirdLife Malta also mentioned the Wildlife Crime Unit which will be equipped specially to handle these cases. It said that the ORNIS Committee, the advisory body on hunting and trapping season, forwarded the proposal for a dedicated police unit on wildlife crime together with the Wild Birds Regulation Unit to the ministry for the environment.
The ORNIS Committee which includes hunters and conservationists, all support the establishment of the Unit, according to BirdLife Malta.They hope this new section is given the adequate resources and training it needs to function properly.
BirdLife Malta also insists the Government needs to commit itself to address the problem of hunting seasons which they said are only serving as smokescreens for illegal hunting in spring, and also during the first months of autumn.
On the other hand, hunters' lobby group FKNK, in a statement released earlier today said that although the illegal killing of protected birds had nothing to do with hunting which is legal and sustainable it wanted to point out that it was and will remain against all illegal activity.
FKNK have been working intensively against these illegalities which they say have decreased substantially. They said that BirdLife Malta has for over 30 years exaggerated the number of illegalities so as to receive money with the excuse that they were working against such illegalities.
The hunters' lobby group accused BirdLife Malta that it has avoided all studies to obtain actual true knowledge on the subject.
Photos: Alenka Falzon/Birdlife Malta