FKNK tells bird trappers October season may not be possible

The president of the hunting lobby has said he believes the trapping season will still be opened despite the European Court of Justice’s decision that found Malta’s derogations to have been illegal.

But Joseph Perici Calascione said the FKNK will not be able to formulate a proposal for a trapping season that fulfils the strict conditions laid down by the Birds Directive, in time for October.

Perici Calascione on Friday addressed a sizeable crowd of members of the FKNK, in which he explained the ramifications of the ECJ’s decision on Malta’s trapping season, which he claims “has no legal basis”.

Perici Calascione said that the FKNK will still request the Ornis Committee to derogate from the ban, but said the FKNK will not be in time to formulate a proposal of how to fulfil the conditions set by the Birds Directive by August.

“The conditions include everything from enforcement to licences and the type of equipment we use… everything would have to change.”

On Friday, members of the FKNK, were told about the ramifications of the ECJ’s decision on Malta’s trapping season

Perici Calascione said he told members that he believed trapping will still be allowed some time soon. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be here. I said that other countries are in the same situation as Malta’s. If these countries get anything more than we have, we’ll take action.”

He also said trappers were visibly distraught by the ECJ’s decision. “It is a way of life, it is something embedded in you. We are obviously very saddened. I can personally say that I even know people who have committed suicide following the banning decision.

“It will take some time for the season to be re-opened, but I believe that we will reach a legal compromise to restore such a fundamental piece of our culture,” he said.

The ECJ ruled that by allowing the live-capturing of seven species of wild finches, Malta had failed to fulfil its obligations under the European Wild Birds Directive, which bans trapping and only allows it under very strict criteria.

Malta had insisted that it was in line with the law, after controversially reopening the season in 2014, after it had been phased out in 2009 in line with the EU accession treaty.

“Malta followed the guidelines issued by the European Union (EU) and still trapping was banned,” Perici Calascione insisted.

He claimed the decision was a clear example of how civil servants had more power than member states in the EU, claiming the decision was issued by “unelected officials”.

The ECJ questioned the level of enforcement by Maltese authorities, “considering that in the context of Malta, characterised by a very high density of licence holders, namely over 4,000, and of registered trapping stations, namely over 6,400, the fact that merely 23 per cent of hunters have been subject to individual checks seems inadequate.”

Perici Calascione accused the EU of only being concerned with “imposing uniformity” among its member states, and that it did not “respect the culture and uniqueness of individual countries”, adding that he believed trapping had no ecological impact on the species.

“They based their decision on an outdated report issued by BirdLife, an organisation that is outright against hunting and trapping. That within itself is a biased decision,” Perici Calascione claimed.