Alejandro Torés Sánchez Malta is in breach of the EU Birds Directive by allowing spring hunting of species such as Common Quail Zoom In

Malta shoots down EU hunting laws

21-07-2005

BirdLife International and BirdLife Malta have this week lodged a formal complaint with the EU Commission at the failure of the Maltese Government to adequately implement the EU Birds Directive in relation to the island’s rampant bird hunting and trapping.

Every year thousands of migrating birds are shot illegally in Malta, including species such as Western Marsh-harrier Circus aeruginosus, European Honey-buzzard Pernis apivorus, Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus and the threatened Purple Heron Ardea purpurea.

However, to make things worse, each year an estimated 100,000 European Turtle-doves Streptopelia turtur and other species with declining populations in Europe are shot in total conformity with Maltese national laws, mostly on their spring migration.

BirdLife asked the EU Commissioner, Mr. Stavros Dimas, to investigate and take the appropriate steps to ensure that Malta, as a Member State, complies with the existing binding EU legislation. The complaint focuses on Malta’s failure to integrate and then implement the European Birds Directive’s provisions on hunting and trapping into national laws.

As well as breaching the Birds Directive because it allows hunting of Turtle Doves and Common Quail Coturnix coturnix in spring, several other Maltese laws are not in line with the EU Birds Directive. For example, Malta also allows the hunting at sea of twelve species of waterfowl during their spring migration, as well as the trapping of Turtle Dove, Quail, Song Thrush Turdus philomelos and Eurasian Golden-plover Pluvialis apricaria with nets.

"Hunting birds during their return migration to the breeding grounds is explicitly forbidden by the Birds Directive. In addition, this law makes it nearly impossible to control the widespread illegal hunting of many other threatened birds during this time of the year." —Joseph Mangion, President of BirdLife Malta

When entering the EU, Malta was granted a period of transition to phase out the trapping of finches, which is normally forbidden in all Member States, by 2008. However, the Maltese Government have not respected the conditions of this agreement, particularly regarding the timing of the trapping and the timetable for this phasing-out.

"BirdLife Malta and BirdLife International are committed to ensure a safe future for birds in Europe, and have tried for many years to solve the problems in Malta through dialogue and cooperation with the Maltese Government," said Clairie Papazoglou, Head of BirdLife’s Brussels office.

"However, these efforts have proven to be rather fruitless, so the time has come now for the European Commission to take its responsibility as guardian of the EU's laws, and to ensure with quick and decisive legal action against Malta that next spring European birds can pass safely over the Maltese Islands. If the Commission doesn’t take decisive action against Malta on hunting it will set a dangerous precedent for other countries in the EU, and sign a death warrant for thousands of migratory birds," she added.