[WATCH] Decision to go for a moratorium ‘taken after engaging with hunters’

Prime Minister shrugs off ‘spies’ allegations, says ‘no 007s’ report back to his chief of staff

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A political decision by the government to announce a moratorium on the spring hunting of the turtledove was taken following “engagement” with the hunting community, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed.

The government yesterday declared a moratorium following the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s classification of the turtledove as a vulnerable species.

A spokesperson for Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella has refused to whether the European Commission was considering taking Malta to court over this year’s spring hunting season. Informed sources in Brussels told MaltaToday that yesterday’s agenda of the meeting of the Commission was amended at the last minute to remove any references to possible infringement proceedings against Malta.

In reply to questions by this newspaper, a spokesperson for Vella would not explain why the agenda had been changed. Instead, he yesterday said: “The official list of infringements procedures will be adopted tomorrow. Until then no decision is taken.”

The Maltese government, Muscat said today, was now awaiting the European Commission’s response following the announcement of the moratorium.

“Following the developments in the recent days and after engaging with the hunting community, we decided to announce a moratorium. I thank the hunting community for the responsible manner with which they acted and for understanding that this was necessary in the circumstances,” he said.

Muscat also confirmed that the spring hunting for quail will remain open.

BirdLife Malta has urged the government to ban spring hunting outright, rather than simply suspend it. 

“Spring hunting has an expiry date, and the government should be courageous enough to take a decision that will ultimately be supported by half the public, who had voted to ban it in last year’s referendum,” BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana has said.
“The FKNK fears that spring hunting is coming to an end, and they believe that a moratorium is the only way out. However, it will be a fallacy for the government to simply patch up the problem. The scientific data is out there, and it is undeniable that turtle dove populations have declined.” 

The hunters insist that three million turtle doves are killed every year in Europe, while Maltese hunters are only allowed to kill 5,000 in spring: “The percentage is less than 1% of the total number of turtle doves killed in Europe every year.” 

‘No 007s at Castille’

The Prime Minister brushed off allegations made by independent MP Marlene Farrugia that “spies” were engaged in every ministry reporting back to his chief of staff, Keith Schembri.

Schembri, who was found to have incorporated a Panamanian company after the general elections, was yesterday the subject of a motion of censure against Muscat. The Prime Minister has defended Schembri ever since details of offshore trust and companies were revealed by Panama Papers.  

“We don’t have 007s,” Muscat said, laughing off suggestions of ‘spies’ keep Schembri updated on every ministry’s move.

The Prime Minister also insisted that there was no need for Schembri to appear before a parliamentary ad hoc committee.

“Most of the questions raised yesterday revolved around his personal business pre-2013 … a lot of false assertions and half-truths were made. People have the facts and they can reach their own conclusions,” he said, adding that Schembri shouldn’t be punished for having been a successful businessman.

Muscat reiterated that “negative Simon Busuttil sounded like a broken record” and the PN leader “can’t stand Labour’s success”.