Labour MP, hunting lobby meeting trappers in run-up to 2013 elections

Labour MP Michael Falzon has been holding consultation meetings with his constituents together with Lino Farrugia, the secretary-general of hunters' federation FKNK, to discuss a future legal framework for reopening the finch-trapping season under a Labour government.

These meetings, which are being endorsed by the hunters' federation, come as part of the run-up to the general elections.

During one of the meetings in Gzira,  for which MaltaToday was present, Lino Farrugia told some 15 trappers present that "with the political will, trapping can be allowed".

During the one-hour meeting, Farrugia did most of the talking, with trappers asking questions while he answered them. Michael Falzon, a declared hunter himself but who no longer practices the sport, intervened every now and then.

The meeting was largely characterised by trappers insisting that finch trapping should be reopened, and asking whether a Labour government would be prepared to start issuing new trapping licenses.

But Falzon, who was evidently wary of the presence of the media in the room, would not commit to the requests being made.

"All I can say is that a Labour government would look thoroughly at what has been negotiated [with the EU] before committing ourselves to any stand. However, I can say that we will avail ourselves of the right to derogate from laws just like other countries do," Falzon assured his audience.

The audience also claimed that there were instances where Administrative Law Enforcement police officers were letting birds out of their cages and then smashing the cages with their feet.

The shadow minister for home affairs replied that while the officers had to carry out their work and make sure that the law was being adhered to, a new Labour government would not tolerate "any of this nonsense" ('dan il-qziez jinqata').

Under present EU and national legislation, Malta cannot derogate from the EU's ban on the trapping for finches, and doing so would only lead for the European Commission to open infringement proceedings against the country. This could also mean Malta would have to pay a hefty fine if found guilty of breaching EU law in the European Court of Justice.

Malta negotiated a transition period of until 2008, when it became an EU member in 2004, during which it could open the trapping season and submit its case as to why it should derogate from the EU ban on trapping.

During those four years, no new licenses were issued for trappers; lands and trapping sites were to be registered; and government was meant to develop a breeding programme for birds to regenerate the avian gene pool.

When no concrete action was taken, government and the FKNK broke ranks. Attempts at setting up a breeding programme at Ghammieri failed miserably.

In comments to MaltaToday, Lino Farrugia insisted that the Maltese government can still derogate from the EU ban on finch-trapping, just like government already does on the trapping of song thrush and golden plover.

Song thrush and golden plover, which do not belong to the finch or songbird family, fall outside this ban. Finches are not trapped or taken in any other EU Member States.

Lino Farrugia begs to differ: "Every country has the right to apply for a derogation and no one can tell it 'it cannot be done'. In fact, 4,000 derogations are applied every year to the Birds Directive."

Malta currently applies one derogation for hunting in spring, and another for the trapping of birds in autumn. "We now need another one for the trapping of finches. If government says it wants to apply the derogation, the EU cannot stop it. Government would then have 22 months to justify it," Farrugia told MaltaToday.

Farrugia said the important thing would be for Malta to prove that there was "no other satisfactory solution" for Maltese trappers to practice their hobby under the current restrictions.

Under the Birds Directive, Member States may derogate from this ban and allow trapping, provided that all the strict conditions set out in the law are respected - absence of satisfactory alternative, selectivity, small numbers, judicious use, and strict supervision.

Anti-poaching campaigners say satisfying the conditions is easier said than done. One BirdLife representative had told MaltaToday that the prerequisites "build up to the requirements on how to apply the derogation. So is their judicious use being done? No? Then trapping is out. You don't go on to tick the other boxes. Is there a satisfactory alternative? No. Then that's it."

But Farrugia says the FKNK has repeatedly submitted all these proposals to government. "What is lacking is the political will to do it," Farrugia said.