[WATCH] We will not close hunting season unless Ornis advises us too, Galdes insists

'Closure of hunting season hinges on Ornis Committee's advice' - Galdes. Video: Chris Mangion

Despite a spurt of illegalities, the government will not close the autumn hunting season unless the Ornis Committee recommends such a move, parliamentary secretary for animal rights Roderick Galdes has said.

“I would be worried if law-breakers weren’t being caught, but law enforcement is working and indeed people have been charged in court for hunting abuses,” Galdes told MaltaToday following a visit to the Noah's Ark dog sanctuary in Mellieha. “Nobody is stopping the Ornis Committee from convening to discuss on a technical level whether the season should be closed or not, but we haven’t received any such recommendation from them so far.”

He noted that the law changed since the government closed the spring hunting season in 2015, giving more power to the Ornis Committee, the government’s consultative body on hunting regulations.

When it was pointed out to him that the law still allows the government to close the season without consulting the Ornis Committee, Galdes insisted that he doesnt want to bypass the committee.

“We have already given our direction…we don’t want to bypass discussions at Ornis that are taken on a technical level. Had we done so, we could have been accused of dealing out collective punishment to hunters. The government doesn’t want to go down that path.”

The Ornis Committee is chaired by anthropologist Mark-Anthony Falzon, and includes three members nominated by the government (Marco Falzon, Gwido Baldaccino and Emeline Fenech), two BirdLife officials (Mark Sultana and Nick Barbara) and two representatives from the hunting federation FKNK (Joe Perici Calascione and Lino Farrugia).

However, Falzon has repeatedly refused to answer the media’s questions, at one point claiming that it was “not his job to speak to the press about hunting-related matters”.

When questioned whether he agrees with Falzon’s stance of silence, Galdes responded: “I don’t know, send him questions and he can answer for himself”.

When it was again pointed out to him that the problem was that Falzon was not likely to respond, Galdes said: “I don’t know. Falzon is an independent person an it is up to him whether to speak or not. From my part, I don’t interfere in the work of an independent committee.”

Following last year’s spring hunting referendum, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat warned hunters that he will not tolerate any illegalities and that their victory at the polls did not mean that it was “business as usual”.

“Hunting organisations must realize that the situation has changed and they have one final chance to get it right,” he said. “Thanks to the small minority of illegal hunters, the law-abiding hunters came extremely close to losing the spring hunting season once and for all. When the season re-opens, it will not be business as usual for them. The law-abiding hunters now have a responsibility to report all cases of law-breaking hunters.”

Indeed, Muscat ordered the immediate closure of the 2015 spring hunting season after a hunter shot a kestrel which fell into the football pitch of St. Edward’s College while the students were on their lunch break.

However, BirdLife Malta has criticised the government for not taking action this season despite widespread instances of illegal hunting, suggesting its lax stance was due to the upcoming general elections.

Last week, a 23-year-old from Mosta was charged in court with shooting down an eagle in the outskirts of Rabat.