Overhaul of wild rabbit regulations includes mandatory reporting of rabbit bags

The 1994 legislation on the Protection of Wild Birds and Wild Rabbit Regulations will be repealed by new legislation to provide an effective regulatory regime on the protection and sustainable exploitation of wild rabbit.

The parliamentary secretariat for animal rights will be publishing the new legislation in the coming days. According to the secretariat, the new legislation aims to improve precision of regulation, safeguard traditional aspects of wild rabbit hunting, improve protection of the species, minimize possibility of abuse, provide necessary legal clarity and generally render the legal framework more streamlined and enforceable.

Under the old regulatory regime, rabbit hunting season is open between 1st June and 31st December of each year, with no regulatory distinction being made between hunting of wild rabbit with gun, and capturing of wild rabbit using dogs, ferrets and nets.

Under the new regulations, rabbit hunting season commences on 1st June and closes on 31st December, however rabbit hunting with gun during the months of June, July and August will only be permitted on land registered with the Department of Agriculture, and subject to written consent of the title holder.

“This requirement will not apply for rabbit hunting from September to December during such times that hunting of birds is permitted under the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations, or to capturing of wild rabbit using dogs, ferrets and nets, in which case certain other restrictions will apply,” the parliamentary secretariat said.

Whilst the part of the old regulations that dealt with the protection of wild birds has already been repealed by the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations (S.L. 504.71), the part that regulated the protection and exploitation of wild rabbit severely lacked in a number of aspects, including with respect to protection measures, unharmonised enforcement and penalty regime, lack of provisions concerning wild rabbit bag data collection and lack of differentiation in regulatory approaches concerning various types of rabbit hunting activities.

 Between June and August, the hunting of wild rabbit with guns shall be permitted between two hours before sunrise and two hours after sunset from Monday to Saturday and between two hours before sunrise until one o’clock in the afternoon on Sundays and on public holidays.

From September to December the hunting of wild rabbit with guns shall be permitted during such times when the hunting of wild birds is allowed in terms of the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations (S.L. 504.71) or any subsidiary Regulations thereof.

“However the above restrictions will not apply to the capture of wild rabbit using dogs, ferrets and nets, without the use of a gun.”

Under the new regulations, licensed rabbit hunters/capturers will have a legal obligation to report their rabbit bags through Carnet de Chasse, which will enable the authorities to collect bag statistics.

Penalties for violations of Wild Rabbit Protection Regulations have been drastically increased, to be in synch with the level of penalties for violations of Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations.

Additional legal protection measures have been introduced to safeguard against any potential disturbance to ground nesting birds, such as for instance a requirement that ferrets used in pursuit of wild rabbit must be muzzled, restrictions pertaining to use of nets, as well as inclusion of certain areas where no capturing of wild rabbit can take place.

The reform of wild rabbit protection regime took into account proposals put forward by MEPA, the FKNK, individual rabbit hunting enthusiasts, as well as from Birdlife (Malta).