[WATCH] Disappointed BirdLife – Galdes deserves title of ‘hunting secretary’

Hours after this year's spring hunting season came to an end, environment NGO BirdLife Malta estimates there has been an increase in illegalities when compared to previous years.

BirdLife Malta staff and Spring Watch volunteers recorded a total of 895 incidents of illegal hunting in Malta alone. This includes 53 incidents of protected birds being shot at or shot down by illegal hunters and 636 incidents of hunting outside legal hours.

BirdLife Malta, disappointed at the poor number of enforcement officers out to monitor this year's 9,500 licenced hunters, also said parliamentary secretary for animal rights Roderick Galdes should have his role renamed to "parliamentary secretary for hunting".

"We need the minister to be more involved in the issue. We found it difficult to sit on the spring hunting derogation board when at the same time FKNK was not implementing its 'zero-tolerance policy'," BLM executive director Steve Micklewright said.

Addressing a press conference, Mickelwright said it was unacceptable of Galdes to accuse certain organisations of "sensationalism".

He also took umbrage at Galdes's statement that "only 18 birds" had been shot. According to Micklewright, the junior minister should know that these numbers only reflected birds which were either rescued by individuals walking in the countryside or those rescued by the NGO.

"Moreover, by allowing trapping the government is not taking a balanced approach," Micklewright said, referring to Galdes' announcement that government would be applying a derogation to allow bird trapping in autumn.

Condemning the derogation, Micklewright said trapping affected the wild population of birds even though the NGO was more concerned about spring hunting.

"We understand that the government has made its own arrangements and agreements with the hunters and trappers. But it's time for the minister to intervene and reconsider such agrememnts."

Micklewright argued that FKNK was not keeping its part of the agreement. "When it failed to take immediate action against one of its officials caught hunting at the Bird Sanctuary, FKNK showed they are tolerating illegalities," he said.

Edwin Vella, the mentioned official, has now resigned.

Information gathered by BirdLife Malta's 40 volunteers during this year's spring hunting reported 53 protected birds being shot at or shot down, encountered 11 trapping incidents and witnessed 41 protected birds being shot at.

The numbers of injured and dead shot protected birds recovered by BirdLife Malta this year amounted to 20, compared to the 12 birds in 2012 and 21 birds in 2011.

On Sundays, BirdLife registered more than 600 incidents of illegal hunting.

This year's season saw the participation of 9,500 licensed hunters, thanks to the abolition of the €50 fee. According to BirdLife Malta, this allowed the number of hunters to double.

Every hunter this year was allowed a maximum quota of four birds. Micklewright however said BirdLife was still waiting to analyse the intensity of hunting it reported when compared to that reported by hunters.

BirdLife Malta's conservation manager Nicholas Barbara noted that this year's migration of birds over Malta appears to have been better than in the past, adding that it was however too early to say.

BirdLife volunteers also reported to have only observed 19 enforcement officials - excluding army members who were called in for the last days - compared to the 66 officials which should have been patrolling the countryside.

Micklewright also announced that the team was working relentlessly in order to prepare a report on the season and send it to the European Commission as quickly as possible.

BirdLife also intends to continue talks with the European Union in order to see how enforcement could be properly enforced.

While criticising FKNK for having driven a wedge between the two organisations, Micklewright said he looked forward to once again sit with the hunters and find common grounds on which they could work together to safeguard protected birds.