BirdLife Malta has put together a video documenting the illegalities witnessed during the spring hunting season which it will present to the EU Commission.
“This year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, we could not welcome international volunteers to help us monitor the season but in spite of this, with just an average of two small teams out in the field every morning, rampant hunting illegalities were observed across the areas covered in Malta and Gozo. As widely anticipated, the smokescreen hunting season supposedly open only for Common Quail – which purposely coincided with the peak migration of the protected European Turtle-dove – had once again the vulnerable turtle-dove as its main target.”
In their video, BirdLife states that 8,229 hunters received their licence this spring.
After the action announced by the hunting lobby in the past days, “following the publication of this video the hunting lobby’s defense will probably once again be to try to have the general public believe that the observation of these illegalities constitutes some kind of invasion into the hunters’ ‘rights’ to enjoy their privacy or property, conveniently ignoring the fact that every episode in this video amounts to illegal hunting, with hunters seen stationary in their hides waiting for incoming turtle-doves (not one single hunter was seen trying to flush a quail, which was the only legally huntable species this spring), or blatantly and deliberately shooting on turtle-doves and other protected species. BirdLife Malta would like to make it clear that all footage in this video was filmed from public spaces, clearly demonstrating acts which are in breach of the law and which we expect to be brought to justice.”
Illegalities, particularly relating to the illegal killing of turtle-doves were detected on a daily basis during the season, BirdLife said.
“BirdLife Malta and police also recovered a number of illegally shot turtle-doves suffering from various gunshot injuries. This video will now be presented to the European Commission as part of the evidence of how Malta’s derogation for the hunting of Common Quail in spring has once again been used to allow hunters to target the protected European Turtle-dove. In view of the fresh infringement procedures initiated by the European Union against Malta in December 2020 over concerns that last year’s season coincided with peak migration of turtle-dove, opening this year’s season during the same period (10th-30th April) will leave the European Commission no other option than to take Malta to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) since it has failed to show how it is protecting the turtle-dove from extinction.”