BirdLife Malta condemns this decision as a purely electoral one
The Prime Minister’s decision to place the hunting regulator under the Gozo Ministry is diabolical. BirdLife Malta condemns this decision as a purely electoral one.
BirdLife Malta CEO Mark Sultana reacted: “The decision to transfer the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) – that serves as the regulator on hunting and trapping in Malta – to the Ministry of Gozo under Minister Clint Camilleri, himself a hunter and trapper, is a diabolical move which sends the wrong message. The only consideration here is purely electoral.”
As Malta’s largest environmental NGO, BirdLife Malta would have hoped that Prime Minister Robert Abela responds to the environmental concerns and shifts responsibility of hunting and trapping to a ministry which embraces the environment, and not the hunting and trapping lobby.
BirdLife Malta reminds the Prime Minister that Malta faces Infringement Proceedings on an EU level on the decision to open trapping for songbirds and for its insistence to allow trapping for other species.
Furthermore Birdlife Malta hopes that the Prime Minister is fully aware of the subjective decision-making process in the WBRU and the overwhelming presence of hunters and trappers in the unit.
BirdLife Malta urges the Prime Minister to reconsider this decision and place the WBRU within a ministry that reflects the aspirations of a nation that considers environment as a priority.
Read the Maltese version of the press release here.