BirdLife Malta has urged the European Commission to close Malta’s bird trapping season, while urging the government to respect a recent EU Court of Justice decision declaring trapping for "research purposes" is illegal.

In a strong condemnation of the government’s decision to open the trapping season 'for research', the NGO said Prime Minister Robert Abela was putting electoral interests above the rule of law.

“The Prime Minister is acting as an advocate for trappers rather than upholding EU law, and he is dragging down the entire cabinet and the country’s reputation with him,” the organisation said at a press conference in front of Castille.

BLM head of conservation Nicholas Barbara stressed that trapping finches reduced their lifespan. File photo: Natalino Fenech.

The issue goes back to 2020, when the government said it was allowing the trapping of seven species of wild finches, claiming the EU Birds Directive allowed the practice “for the purposes of research and teaching, of re-population, of re-introduction and for the breeding necessary for these purposes”.

The European Commission took Malta to court after calling the government’s decision a “cover-up” to continue the practice of trapping as a hobby.

Last month, the European Court of Justice ruled that Malta’s decision to allow finch trapping for “research purposes” was illegal. It said legal notices allowing the practice did not establish a genuine research purpose and hence could not be considered as being justified - a decision which BirdLife said, the government has chosen to ignore despite the country risking fines for failing to adhere to the decision.

The government on Sunday said that in line with the court's decision, its latest legal notice explained why the bird migration research programme was needed and why there were no alternatives to it.

But on Monday, BirdLife dismissed those claims and insisted there were alternative, non-invasive methods that could be used for such research.

The organisation said it estimated that more than 51,400 finches were caught last year and that number was expected to rise this year due to an additional 235 sites opened for trapping since.

BirdLife Malta President Darryl Grima speaking on Monday. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

CABS join call

In a separate strongly worded statement on Monday, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) joined BLM’s attack on the government, saying Abela and other cabinet members had a “long history of protecting and appeasing trappers and poachers to get votes.”

"Their latest step shows they are not only willing to violate EU law and risk high fines but also sacrifice the concept of independent science for a group of hobbyists who seem to have the government in a sweatbox,” CABS president Karl-Heinz Kreutzer said.

Accusing hunters of trapping activities even before the season had begun, the group’s wildlife crime officer, Fiona Burrows, said the police Environmental Protection Unit, acting on CABS information, had confiscated 12 nets and 57 birds.

The organisation said a trapper had been caught operating less than 100 metres away from Girgenti Palace, an official residence of the prime minister.

Information ‘not transparent’

Meanwhile, the Malta Ranger Unit (MRU) said information about trapping locations issued by the government was not transparent enough for the public and made it difficult for people to establish whether trapping sites they may encounter were legal.

“This creates an opportunity for the poachers to easily carry out their activity, as well as opening up for legal trappers to be reported mistakenly," the unit said.

The NGO slammed Clint Camilleri, the minister responsible for hunting, for “never addressing the challenges” faced by officers tasked with enforcement. It said it would soon file a complaint to the Ombudsman to “address the lack of impartiality of the Minister of Gozo.”