The spring hunting season in Malta could be just around the corner yet hunters have not shown enough respect and discipline towards the laws to merit it to open, BirdLife Malta CEO Mark Sultana told The Malta Independent on Sunday.

Spring hunting could be set to open next week pending an approval by the Government after the Ornis Committee gave it the go-ahead. However, things have not been plain sailing regarding hunting in the Maltese islands.

Recently, BirdLife Malta filed a judicial protest to call out the lack of data that the hunters’ lobby provided in recent times, in which BirdLife argued that only 292 hunters (2.7%) out of the 10,675 licensed hunters reported their catches in 2020.

“In Malta, there is a framework law that gives out parameters regarding how the season can open. The parameters state whether the hunting season can open, as well as the number of birds that can be caught. These two clauses depend on the data that the Government or the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) collects from the hunters themselves from the hunting they would have done in autumn – from September to January,” Sultana said.

He noted that the law stipulates that the Government can only open a spring hunting season – which is a derogation from the European Birds Directive – if the autumn hunting season was not a satisfactory alternative.

“The hunters themselves are not participating in this system, so we and the European Union are saying that there is not enough information and data from the hunters' part to justify that the government can open the hunting season,” the CEO remarked.  

He noted that the number of hunters that have reported their catches is too low, which is “not only unacceptable”, but also “can’t be believed”.

“So, we are saying that this data doesn't merit the right for the spring hunting season to open,” Sultana said. 

Spring hunting decision

Nevertheless, Sultana still believes that the spring hunting season will be opened and stressed that such a decision by the Government would be a political one.

“I think the hunting season will open, and I'm saying this because the political will of this Government is clear. We can debate this for a long time, but at the end of the day the political will is what it is; no one can stop, it seems, what the government wants politically.”

However, the BirdLife Malta CEO said that the “the laws still remain laws” and that they need to be observed. “So if the Government is going to open the spring hunting season which does not conform with the laws and is not justified in the European Union's ambit, the hunters who do not abide by such laws should face consequences.”

Sultana remarked that the European Union has already criticized the Maltese authorities for thinking about opening the spring hunting season.

“There is an infringement process ongoing. The European Union has already told the Government that it is opening up a season during the turtle dove migration; it doesn't make sense as turtle doves are a protected species. The EU is saying: ‘you are opening up a hunting season when you are showing that you cannot enforce this law’. Now there is also the fact that the government doesn't have the necessary amount of data,” Sultana observed.

“So, the government will take this risk; the political decision will be that 'yes, we will be a bit hard-headed and decide to go against the will of the European Union’, and there could be political reasons behind this, including that there could be an election just behind the door.” 

Illegal hunting

This newsroom also asked Sultana about the concerns the country is facing in terms of illegal hunting of protected birds, where a record number of 210 illegally-shot birds was recorded in 2020. This is nearly double the total of illegal hunting casualties recovered in 2018 which was, prior to 2020, the record year for illegalities (114) since 2013. 

“The fundamental reason why the illegal shootings are happening is due to the lack of discipline or respect being shown towards the law from the hunters' part. Before these increase we will never solve the problem completely,” Sultana said.

He also noted other issues that give rise to these illegal shootings, such as a grave lack of enforcement. “Since the Government is giving leeway in terms of enforcing laws, the hunters feel like everything is going in favour of them, so they think: ‘Let us continue to take chances to break the law’. Resources to mitigate these illegalities are also scarce.”

“There are also thousands of other problems, but basically, the hunter feels that he can get away with it, so he will do it, especially if he feels that the chances of him getting caught are remote.”

Sultana mentioned that enforcement and a certain degree of willingness to enforce had an impact in 2015 and in the following months, when the government decided to close the hunting season due to the reported illegalities committed by hunters.

“In 2015, the then-prime minister closed the hunting season before it was due to do so because there were a number of illegalities. In the following autumn, there were a few reports of illegalities because the hunters were afraid that there would be repercussions.”

However, Sultana said that this positive impact did not last for long. “A year passed, two years passed, and there was no enforcement from the Government’s side, so the hunters thought that this might have been a gimmick after the referendum.”

“The psychological aspect affects and before there is discipline from the hunters and enforcement from the Government that is not only reactive but proactive, there will only be little chance that we will see some form of differences in these illegalities,” Sultana said.   

European outlook

Sultana was also asked about what Europe’s view on Malta is regarding the topic of hunting. He remarked that due to the illegalities occurring, he is convinced that the hunting season in spring and bird trapping in our country have an “expiry date”.

“I am convinced that the spring hunting season and bird trapping in our country have an expiry date, and this depends on how long the European Union will wait to take action.”

He noted that a number of infringements have started, and there are 3 in total right now from the European Union’s side. “One of them is on enforcement and the rest are about the justification that the government is using for bird trapping.”

“I think that if the government keeps a hard-head regarding this topic – for political reasons and whatever reasons it wants – the European Union will take us to court and Malta will find it difficult to persuade the courts to vote in favour of Malta… we will end up being guilty, get penalised, but it would also be the end of hunting in spring,” Sultana said. 

Hunting lobby

Federazzjoni Kaċċaturi Nassaba Konservazzjonisti (FKNK) recently also countered BirdLife Malta’s judicial protest with a judicial protest themselves against BirdLife Malta. The two generally do not see eye to eye, but Sultana did note some positives.

“I don't want to be patronising in terms of how they lead their organisations. I think that there is a certain lack of seriousness, even though lately we are seeing that the hunting lobby is trying to change the image of hunters as being not only the hunters who only kill birds, but also hunters who manage sites and grow plants and so forth. These are all positive things,” he said.

However, he did say that he believes the hunting organisations such as FKNK and Kaċċaturi San Ubertu (KSU) “need to be more solid with their own members and ask for more discipline.”

Furthermore, he noted that more work needs to be done in order “for the country to understand what sustainable hunting means.” Just because Malta has a relatively small population doesn’t mean that illegalities should continue to happen, he said.

“It is pointless that we are saying that the numbers in Malta are small, as it is not the case. When we speak of the natural environment, the ecology and especially the birds which migrate… the numbers in Malta are irrelevant. We need to take the whole aspect. If in Europe spring hunting does not take place, but in Malta it takes place because we say that they are small amounts, this is not a correct justification. We need to be more honest than this,” Sultana remarked.

He observed that the organisation tries to stray away from criticising the hunting organisations, and tries to put more pressure on Government to enforce hunting laws.

“The biggest problems are purely how the Government reacts and the lack of enforcement. Our judicial protest is against the government in fact, even though the FKNK put forward a judicial protest against us – they are acting as if we can't complain anymore,” he said.