Birds are an intricate component of ecosystems, which we need for our own survival. Birds play an important role in the effective functioning of these systems. As birds are high up in the food chain, they are also good indicators of the general state of our biodiversity. When they start disappearing, it means that something is wrong with our environment and that we need to take action.
The Maltese islands lie on one of the main flyways of wild bird migration. This makes Malta one of the few places where people can experience a variety of species. A total of 384 bird species have been recorded in Malta. Of these, 170 occur regularly during spring and autumn migration periods. This is a natural resource to be treasured.
The country has the potential of attracting a number of cultured tourists through ecotourism and birdwatching initiatives, but this continues to be ignored due to an insistence to appease the hunters and trappers for reasons that are solely political.
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| Live decoy bird at trapping site |
Many hunters and trappers have so far gotten away with killing birds indiscriminately. On the other hand, the Maltese public is forced to live with restrictions imposed on access to the already limited countryside available due to the occupation of most of it by aggressive hunters who claim public land as their own.
Since Malta joined the European Union, the government has continued to allow the infringement of EU law aimed at the conservation of wild birds and their habitat. Malta’s persistent infringements of the EU Birds Directive are a matter of serious concern. The Maltese government has allowed the spring hunting and trapping of Turtle Dove and Quail in direct violation of the EU law since 2004 and hunters have used this as a blanket to kill protected species.
Spring hunting and trapping is expressly forbidden by the Birds Directive. Moreover, trapping is not allowed in the EU at any time of the year. Trapping using clap nets is banned throughout the EU due to the fact that it is a very effective trapping method (using live decoys) that can catch large quantities of birds. Due to the efficiency of this method in Malta, the main target - finch species - no longer breed regularly here, despite the fact that they are very common throughout the rest of the Mediterranean. Hunting in spring hunting is forbidden because it kills birds just before they reproduce, therefore endangering future generations. For this reason, hunting is permitted in autumn.
The EU has taken the initiative to protect wild birds and their habitats because the EU's rich diversity of over 500 wild bird species has been facing severe threats for a long time. According to the latest scientific studies, 43% of Europe's bird species are threatened or facing serious decline and therefore not in a good conservation status, including Turtle dove and Common Quail.
BirdLife Malta endorses the full implementation of the Birds Directive and continues to campaign to ensure that the Maltese government clamps down on illegal hunting, outlaws hunting in spring and puts an end to trapping by the end of 2008.
Learn more about Recent Developments.
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| Mortally wounded Osprey - another victim of Maltese hunters / IBalzan |