Government says hunting enforcement ‘unprecedented’ in Europe

The total number of permitted hunting hours during 2014 will be less than in 2013, the government said, adding that the decision to allow spring hunting was guided by national law which was “clear and precise.”

In reaction to BirdLife’s strong-worded statement issued earlier today, government said that the statement gives “a misleading impression that the hunting season is being lengthened, in comparison with previous year’s season.”

Echoing the hunters’ federation chief Lino Farrugia, who said that last year’s spring hunting season was longer than this year’s, government noted that noted that while last year’s spring hunting season spanned from 10 to 30 April, both days included, this year’s season will commence on 12 April.

“Hunting for turtle dove and quail was allowed on weekdays between two hours before sunrise and 3pm, and on Saturdays between two hours before sunrise and noon. No hunting was allowed on Sundays and public holidays.”

The statement said that during this year’s season, hunting on three Sundays and during a single public holiday will be allowed until noon only, “however this is more than compensated by corresponding reduction in the overall length of the season, which will start on 12 instead of 10 April, and by reduction of hunting hours during weekdays.” 

Furthermore, government insisted that regulations define several controls and restrictions, such as daily and season’s bag limits per hunter, national quotas, a special licensing requirement, a requirement to report bagged birds through carnet de chasse and through SMS before leaving the hunting area, as well as time and place restrictions.

“Contrary to what Birdlife (Malta) attempts to portray, government’s announcement of 2014 spring hunting season fully respects the parameters of spring hunting derogation, the Birds Directive and the 2009 CJEU judgement on spring hunting in Malta,” government said.

“The law also stipulates minimum enforcement requirements, such as that for every 1,000 licensed hunters there should be at least seven enforcement officers monitoring the hunting season. All these parameters are being adhered to in strictest manner possible. It should be noted that Malta deploys a level of field enforcement that is unprecedented anywhere in Europe,”

Government added that in its statement, Birdlife “insinuated” that the removal of the 48-hour period during which hunters could previously apply for their spring hunting license was tantamount to “removing one of the last remaining restrictions that limited the number of licences issued for hunting in spring.” For administrative and logistical reasons, government pointed out, as well as for the sake of fairness, good governance and cost effectiveness, it considered this timeframe to be “unreasonable and impractical.”

Moreover, government added, it caused unjustified inconvenience and additional expense both to the authorities, which have to cope with processing thousands of license applications within a two day period, and to hunters, who were unjustly put through unreasonable, costly and unfair 48-hour gauntlet of license applications.

 Moreover, the government explained that its monitoring efforts will be bolstered through the introduction of additional observation stations as part of an independent monitoring study of turtle dove and quail migration during April, and shall also, for the first time, implement a similar study in the autumn.

In parallel, the government underlined its commitment to consolidate improvements that occurred over the past few months, “which ranged from doubling of penalties for bird-related crime, to increasing enforcement presence in the field and intensity of inspections, implementation of stricter administrative and regulatory controls, strengthening autumn data reporting system, and improvement in rate of compliance by hunters.”