During yesterday’s Ornis Committee meeting, FKNK’s proposal to open a spring hunting season on the Turtle-dove was accepted with the support of all members except BirdLife Malta, which voted against, while Environment and Resources Authority, ERA abstained. Other proposals by FKNK also went through, including one to allow the trapping of Turtle-doves, which was supported by all members, including ERA, while BirdLife Malta voted against.
What stood out in contrast was the fact that a proposal tabled over a year ago by BirdLife Malta to create a no-hunting buffer zone of 200m around schools in Malta and Gozo received only BirdLife Malta’s vote, while the rest voted against or abstained. While beaches, main roads, and cemeteries have such buffer zones, it is unbelievable and disappointing that all those seated at the Ornis table—chosen by the Government of Malta—did not support the inclusion of schools in this list to protect our children.
ERA representative Darrin Stevens abstained, stating that he still needed to check the implications of environmental permits—an excuse that comes after over a year of discussions and delaying tactics. Had it not been for the perseverance of BirdLife Malta, this item would have been dropped and never brought to a vote.
“There has never been any doubt that the way the Ornis Committee is designed, it is biased towards the Government’s political will, which today is purely to bend over backwards and please the hunting lobby. What happened in yesterday’s meeting clearly proves this. Rather than having a scientific advisory body, the Government has created a team of ‘Yes Minister,’ making this committee an undemocratic and unbalanced entity.”
— Mark Sultana, Chief Executive Officer BirdLife Malta.
Following the outcomes of yesterday’s meeting, BirdLife Malta is requesting the Government not to open a spring hunting season on the vulnerable Turtle-dove, based on the fact that the data provided by the Wild Bird Regulation Unit, WBRU, was mathematically and scientifically incorrect, falsely presenting the Turtle-dove as stable when it is widely known to be in rapid decline in the Central Eastern Flyway.
BirdLife Malta also urges the government not to risk Malta escalating further infringement proceedings with the European Commission, noting that Turtle-dove hunting is already subject to an open infringement procedure, while Turtle-dove trapping had been halted in 2011 following similar infringements.
BirdLife Malta also calls on the Government to rise above the ridiculous stance taken by Ornis and pass the necessary legal notice to protect schools and students by establishing a 200m buffer zone around them.
Finally, BirdLife Malta insists that the Government redesigns and revamps the Ornis Committee into a science-based body with competent experts, ensuring solid scientific advice rather than a mere rubber-stamping entity.
Note:
Malta is currently facing an open infringement procedure on turtle-dove hunting initiated with a letter of formal notice issued in February 2023 (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_23_525)
Malta’s trapping of Turtle-doves was last permitted in 2010, after a 2011 infringement procedure had indicated Malta breaching the Birds’ Directive with the practice
Read our press release in Maltese here.