Hunters accuse activists of depicting a ‘false sense of doom and gloom’

Mark Mifsud Bonnici says that EU figures of turtledoves shot down every year only refer to the autumn months and do not include birds shot down in Malta.

Activists for the Shout campaign to abolish spring hunting are “insulting people’s intelligence and depicting a false sense of doom and gloom”, St Hubert’s Hunters President Mark Mifsud Bonnici said.

Referring to figures presented by a recent gathering of young Shout activists in Valletta, Mifsud Bonnici said that the 2 to 3 million turtledoves shot down in EU states every year does not include birds shot down in Malta, refers solely to birds shot down in autumn, and does not include the  “inconsiderable numbers” quoted by the European Court of Justice for Malta. “This figure was the basis which determined the sustainability of this species by the same Court that endorsed Malta’s right to derogate during spring,” Mifsud Bonnici said.

They also criticised the young activists for stating that there are conservation projects to protect turtledoves in Europe.

“There are no such conservation projects other than a private effort in the UK, where this bird was always protected species and where numbers are declining due to bad agricultural practices,” Mifsud Bonnici said. “The status of this species is that of “least concern” as confirmed by the same Court.”

The activists had said that the illegal use of electronic bird callers for hunting is widespread in Malta but that they can easily be purchased for around €50. However, Mifsud Bonnici argued that they are mainly used by bird ringers and bird photographers to attract birds. 

The activists had also pointed to the extinction of the passenger pigeon in 1914 largely due to extensive hunting.

“However, back then hunting was not regulated by Directives that ensured hunting sustainability,” Mifsud Bonnic said. “The European Birds Directive is there to ensure a “balance between the protection of species and certain leisure activities.”