Hunting in Malta ‘taking advantage of the EU’s slow wheels of justice’ – CABS

The derogations from the European Union’s Birds Directive allowing for spring hunting and the trapping of finches and Golden Plover are nothing but “the Maltese government taking advantage of the EU’s slow wheels of justice” said Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) press officer Axel Hirschfeld in an interview with The Shift on Wednesday.

“The Maltese government thinks year to year. If they can create another derogation and ‘save themselves’ until re-election before they have to face any consequences from the EU, they will,” he said.

Each hunting season, a bag limit is set by the government to restrict the number of birds killed to maintain a sustainable bird population. The limit for the spring’s hunting season is based on hunters’ reports of caught birds from the previous autumn season, a system which both CABS and BirdLife Malta say is routinely abused, with hunters’ failure to report leading to flaky and unreliable data.

Hirschfeld commented that “’sustainability’ is the most raped word in conservation history”.

“The system in place is unenforceable and totally depends on the honesty of the hunters. We have a lot of dishonest hunters in Malta,” he said.

While the EU has consistently called for an end to Malta’s spring hunting derogations, infringement proceedings against Malta move at a glacial pace. The Maltese government is refusing to budge from its position even in the face of letters from the EU Environment Commissioner directly addressed at Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri, who administers the hunting portfolio.

Commenting on this spring’s hunting season, Hirschfeld said that CABS had come across “various incidents where Turtle Doves were killed before the season even opened,” echoing comments made by BirdLife Malta’s head of conservation Nicholas Barbara when interviewed last week by The Shift.

Hirschfeld said, “part of the Turtle Dove quota  was surely already exhausted by the illegal hunters who couldn’t wait,” further pointing to the inadequacy of a system that ends up abetting illegal hunting by failing to account for it properly.

“Other European Union countries have banned not only spring hunting in general, but some have also banned Turtle Dove hunting in autumn,” Hirschfeld explained, noting that despite not being obliged to do the latter under the Birds Directive, hunting on the species was instead restricted through national legislation, given that Turtle Dove has been listed as vulnerable to extinction since 2015.

Malta remains the only country in the European Union to open a spring hunting season for the Turtle Dove, defying scientific recommendations for the species’ protection.

Malta: The deadly stepping stone to Europe

Asked about poaching on species which aren’t legally huntable during the open seasons, Hirschfeld said the issue is prevalent with “birds of prey, especially Honey Buzzards (Kuċċard) and Harriers (Bugħadam)”.

For these migratory bird species, Malta is a stepping stone used as a resting point along their long and arduous journey from central and north Africa, across the Mediterranean and into central Europe to breed in spring.

Regarding CABS’ home country, Hirschfeld said that “a lot is being done in Germany to protect these species, especially Montagu’s Harriers and Marsh Harriers which are essentially totally dependent on conservation efforts to survive”.

“These same birds are being targeted in Malta. We have had several incidents of large roosts being shot in the night,” he continued, highlighting the effect that illegal and unsustainable hunting in Malta has on the rest of Europe.

“Malta might be a small country, but it lies centrally on one of the most important migratory routes. It is the central bottleneck within an hourglass pattern, meaning there is a huge density of birds which pass through,” Hirschfeld said.

“The effect illegal hunting in Malta has can be seen in species such as Marsh or Montagu’s harriers, where the birds simply are not allowed to get old enough to breed and replace themselves for the next generation,” he continued, noting that “All large birds need some time to reach the breeding stage and breed only once a year.”

Hirschfeld also noted the importance of accounting for the unreported instances of such wildlife crime, referred to as the ‘dark figure’. He concluded with the sobering observation that “with this kind of wildlife crime, you have to assume a dark figure of at least 95%, which essentially means multiplying every reported crime 20 times for a more accurate idea of the reality”.

This article was brought to you with the support of IJ4EU and is part of a series involving cross-border investigative journalism.