Government to open song thrush, golden plover trapping season

The government will open the season for the trapping of the song thrush and golden plover, despite ongoing infringement actions from the European Commission that have so far led only to an exchange of letters.

The Gozo minister, who is responsible for hunting, received the recommendation from the Ornis consultative committee, to open the season for the song thrush from 20 October  to 31 December, and for the golden plover from 1 November to 10 January, with national quotas of 5,000 thrush and 700 plover respectively.

Trappers have to report any quarry they catch by SMS on 8000-2020 or on the Game Reporting MP mobile app, and provide further details on ringed birds they trap. Trappers also have to log any ‘trapping effort’ when they do not catch birds.

Hunters at the Ornis committee, the consultative committee that issues the recommendation on whether to open hunting and trapping seasons, voted in favour of continuing both the trapping season for Song Thrush and Golden Plover – currently undergoing an infringement action from the European Commission – but also the continuation of the ‘finch research programme’, the trapping of seven finch species.

BirdLife voted against the trapping season for song thrush and golden plover.

Malta’s trapping season for finches was recently ruled to be illegal by the European Court of Justice.

Malta derogated from the EU ban on the trapping of finches in 2020, by opening a season under a “science and research” programme to collect data and catch and release birds.

The ECJ last month decreed Malta had no justification at law to derogate from the EU’s Birds Directive.