Prior to the Maltese Ornis Committee meeting next Thursday, BirdLife Malta has issued a position paper criticizing the recent set of demands regarding the autumn hunting and trapping seasons put forward by the FKNK. BirdLife warned that these FKNK demands require at least 4 new derogations from the EU Birds Directive and may result in the European Commission opening more infringement procedures against Malta.

The BirdLife Malta position paper is a response to the latest set of demands by the FKNK, which was sent to the Chairman of the Ornis Committee early this month. The Hunting Federation demands that the season for hunting at sea should be extended to the end of February which coincides with the spring migration of ducks, speed limit on boats used for hunting as set by the Birds Directive is removed from the National Legislation, trapping of five new species are allowed next autumn, and through another derogation trapping should continue in 2009 in direct violation of the EU Accession Treaty Agreement signed by Malta.

"All these demands are simply a direct attack on the national hunting legislations and are in direct violation of the EU Birds Directive. FKNK wants Malta to apply at least four more derogations to accommodate their own interest and they do this without providing any justification, scientific or ecological reasoning or data to back up their demands." said BirdLife Malta President Joseph Mangion who sits on the Ornis Committee.

In its position paper BirdLife Malta drew attention to the agreement that was signed by BirdLife International and FACE (the Federation for Hunters in the European Union, with whom the FKNK is a member) in October 2004 in which both organisations recognized that "the Birds Directive is an appropriate legal instrument for the conservation of both wild birds and their habitats at a favourable conservation status at EU level."

BirdLife reminded that Malta, having joined the European Union in 2004, is now obliged to comply with the EU Birds Directive. "However, as the recent FKNK demands show, the Hunting Federation appears to have no interest in respecting the Directive's provisions since most of the FKNK demands sent to the Chairman of the Maltese Ornis Committee goes against the EU Birds Directive." BirdLife Malta said.

Hunting at sea during February is not allowed by the national hunting legislation as this period coincides with the spring migration of large numbers of threatened and protected duck species to their breeding grounds in Europe. Allowing a hunting season such as this may also provoke the European Commission to open another infringement procedure against Malta.

FKNK also demands that Malta apply a derogation to allow the use of engines that are capable of moving faster than 18km/h for boats used for sea hunting although this practice is strictly prohibited under the Birds Directive.

Under the agreements made by the Maltese government with the European Commission during the Accession Treaty, the Maltese government agreed to phase out the trapping of seven songbird (finch) species by the end of 2008. Dr. Andre Raine, BirdLife Malta conservation manager and the second BirdLife representative at the Ornis Committee, drew attention to the FKNK demand regarding the issue of trapping: "FKNK not only wants to continue trapping in 2009 in direct violation of the Accession Treaty agreement but also demands that species such as Turtle Dove, Quail, Plover, lapwing and Song Trush which are not part of the agreement also to be trapped next autumn."

Dr. Raine concluded: "We believe that Ornis Committee will reject these unjustifiable demands and that Malta will honour the agreement it signed with the EU and stop trapping by the end of this year."