Hunting criticism needs to be shot down

Malta’s spring hunting season is legal and well managed.

Caroline Muscat’s article on your pages (“Malta’s birds need greater protection,” 6-11 May), contains, in my view, many errors and misrepresentations.

I will restrict my comments to three main points.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) did not rule that “a spring hunt is illegal”. The court found against Malta for having infringed the conditions of spring-hunting derogations from 2004-07. The court, notwithstanding, found for Malta on the crucial principle that autumn hunting was not a satisfactory alternative to spring hunting.

In April this year, the European Commission, in informal discussions with the Maltese government, confirmed that the proposed opening of a spring-hunting season appeared to comply with the ECJ judgment. By this declaration the Commission admitted that a Maltese spring hunt is legal, and confirmed that future Maltese spring-hunting derogations are indeed possible.

Muscat asserts that the “Commission cannot expect much from Malta’s politicians”. What the Commission should or should not expect from Malta’s politicians is irrelevant. The ECJ’s ruling is binding on the Maltese government and the Commission. Despite being under no obligation, Malta’s prime minister took it upon himself to consult informally with the Commission before applying a spring-hunting derogation. Thus, this Maltese politician and his team adopted a procedure that was fair with regard to any expectations the Commission might have had.

Muscat concludes by declaring that “if it [the EU] does not act, the killing on one of Europe’s three principal migratory paths from Africa will continue”. Since hunting normally results in ‘killing’, this sounds like an indirect request to the Commission to ban hunting in Malta. Applying this logic, since hunting takes place even within the principal migratory paths, instead of picking only on Malta, the EU might just as well act against all its member states that allow hunting.

Secondly, in the central Mediterranean, the principal bird-migration path is the one between Cap Bon (Tunisia) and western Sicily (Italy). This is approximately 240 kilometres north-west of Malta. The main migratory paths for the common quail – one of the species hunted under derogation in spring – indicated in the ‘European Union management plan 2009-11: Common quail (Coturnix coturnix)’ indicates this point perfectly.

Mark Mifsud Bonnici

St Hubert Hunters#

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