Hunters disappointed as turtle dove season halted 19 days ahead of closure

The turtle dove hunting season of this September in the Maltese islands was brought to a close on Saturday, 19 days earlier than expected as the national bag quota of 500 turtle doves established by law was reached.

This was communicated by the WBRU (Wild Birds Regulation Unit) to licensed hunters via SMS. This does not mean that hunters can no longer hunt this September.

Hunting lobby FKNK insisted that contrary to what the European Commission, turtle dove in the wild are on the increase.

“This is clearer from the fact that in the September 2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons, the national bag of turtle doves in Malta never exceeded 300 birds. Therefore, and among other valid reasons, that is why the law established the national bag quota of 500, a quota regarding which the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) has publicly expressed reservations,” secretary-general Daniel Xriha said.

“The misfortune in all this is that the research programs about turtle doves launched by FKNK for September 2021 will also cease. In fact, research into whether the bird bagged is a juvenile or an adult will also have to stop today, while the wing research, which the FKNK launched just a couple of days ago via the MyHunt mobile App in collaboration with Hunter & Co., ceases abruptly.”

Malta is expected to reduce its hunting bag limit on turtle dove by 50% during the autumn, after the European Commission deemed the species needed more protection.

The turtle dove is also hunted in Malta during the spring under a contentious derogation from the EU ban on hunting in spring.

The Maltese government is obliged to implement either a full hunting ban on the turtle dove, or a mandatory 50% reduction of the hunting quotas during autumn. The current maximum quota for turtle doves hunted in autumn is 500.

The EC had long been discussing the fate of the turte dove populations with BirdLife International and the European federation of hunters FACE. Larger countries such as France, Spain and Portugal are looking at banning turtle-dove hunting all year round. 

“The European Commission is sending a clear message here. This decision to allow Malta only 500 turtle-doves to be hunted during September also means that the chances of a spring hunting season for turtle-doves is definitely out of the question,” BirdLife Malta CEO Mark Sultana said. 

Sultana said that knowing that there is no respect for hunting laws in Malta, this limited bag limit would not actually stop hunters from killing more than the quota. “This puts more pressure on the Maltese Government to strengthen its enforcement efforts, and BirdLife Malta will remain committed to doing its share in monitoring what is happening in our countryside, support the enforcement efforts and report back both locally and at EU level on whatever we witness,” Sultana said. “It is disappointing that the Maltese government continued to ignore scientific data.”