Malta to open spring hunting for quail between 10 and 30 April

The opening of the spring hunting season for quail is between 10 and 30 April, the Gozo Ministry has announced. 

Ornis, the hunting advisory body, recommended the dates, from two hours before sunrise until noon, including Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. 

The national quota for this season is 2,400 quails, and there will be no individual quota, the ministry said.

Hunters must abide by health authority regulaton. 

The Government also insisted that quail should be the only hunted bird, insiting the hunting of other species remains illegal. 

Last week BirdLife Malta filed a judicial protest in Court against the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for Gozo and the Head of the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) for plans to open a spring hunting season without meeting the targets and criteria stipulated by law.

“The law stipulates the government can only open a spring hunting season – which is a derogation from the European Birds Directive – if the autumn hunting season was not a satisfactory alternative. This means that a spring hunting season on quail is dependent on the amount of quail hunted during the previous autumn,” BirdLife CEO Mark Sulatana said. 

READ ALSO: BirdLife files judicial protest against government: spring hunting season cannot be opened