Updated | [WATCH] Hunters have illegal licence: BirdLife files complaint to police

Hunters have illegal licence: BirdLife files complaint to police

Upated at 4:00 pm with government reaction 

BirdLife Malta has presented a criminal complaint, saying the hunting licences for quail during the spring season were illegally issued by the Gozo ministry.

The ministry, headed by Clint Camilleri - himself a hunter and trapper - was given responsibility for the Wild Birds Regulation Unit, Malta’s ornithological regulator in a reshuffle by prime minister Robert Abela. BirdLife contend that under EU law, it is the environment ministry that has to regulate affairs relating to hunting and taking of birds.

BirdLife board member Darryl Grima explaining the criminal complaint to police spokesperson Brandon Pisani. (Photo: James Bianchi/MediaToday)

“The Environment and Protection Act calls upon the minister of the environment to issue these licences… nobody is above the law,” BirdLife board member Darryl Grima said outside the police headquarters, where he presented his compliant to a police representative.

Grima insisted that everyone hunting in Malta in the spring season, around 6,000 hunters, were hunting illegally. “The role of the Commissioner of Police is to safeguard the law, away from political interests. The Commissioner of Police should take note that these hunters are out and about with a firearm, illegally. This has great repercussions.”

BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana made a scathing criticism of the Abela administration’s scant regard for nature laws, saying that the shooting season for quail had resulted in thousands of turtle-dove being shot illegally.

“It pains me to say that Robert Abela is worse than Joseph Muscat when it comes to environmental issues, or even the decency of meeting to talk on these matters. We’ve gone back to the 1980s on these issues: hunters shooting at night, travelling to Gozo to shoot when their shotgun must be placed every night in its place of registration, police in Gozo claiming they are unable to see to hunting illegalities.

“The European Commission is aware of these illegalities… we have come to a situation where hunters and trappers can carry out illegal activities without any problem at all. I have no problem saying that in these last two days, thousands of turtle-dove were shot.”

Government reaction 

Reacting to the criminal complaint filed by BirdLife, government said such actions were uncalled-for, insisting it has followed the adopted procedures throughout the years. 

Government also pointed out that the criminal complaint holds a maximum fine of €10,000, or two years imprisonment, together with the revocation of legal obtained permits and licensing. 

“While it is police that will be analysing the criminal complaint, government believes that such a request is baseless and not appropriate,” government said.