Updated Tuesday 1.25pm, adds FKNK statement

A court has provisionally upheld a request by BirdLife for a warrant to stop the government from issuing a legal notice declaring a Spring hunting season for Turtle Dove.

The NGO said it had filedthe application, signed by lawyers Claire Bonello and Martin Farrugia because the Turtle Dove is considered a vulnerable species by the EU.

Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti upheld the request until the court considers the merits of the case and takes a final decision. 

BirdLife in a statement observed that when last year it also asked the courts to stop spring hunting for turtle dove, the State Advocate had successfully argued that the request should have been made before the legal notice was issued.

Furthermore, over the past months the European Commission had started legal proceedings against Malta for allowing hunting for Turtle Dove. The commission argued that since Turtle Dove was a vulnerable species, no derogation (from the Birds Directive) to justify hunting could be justified.

BirdLife Malta president Mark Sultana said there was no doubt that hunting for turtle dove breached the Birds Directive. EU directives were law which had to be observed by all EU member states, he insisted. Local courts had a duty to ensure that the directives were observed. 

The case is expected to be heard on April 18.   

Last week, the hunters' federation (FKNK) said the Ornis Committee, the government’s consultative committee on hunting, had voted in favour of the proposal it put forward to recommend that the government allows turtle dove and quail hunting this spring. 

The recommendation was to allow Quail hunting from April 10 to 30 and Turtle Dove hunting from April 17 to 30, both days included, starting two hours before sunrise to midday.  

In a statement on Tuesday, the FKNK said it was examining all possible means of fighting the ban.

It would also be offering its legal, scientific and technical expertise to the Gozo and Environment ministries as well as the State Advocate.