A hunters' association on Tuesday accused BirdLife Malta of 'blatant deceit' after it announced it would hand the European Court of Justice evidence from finch trapping sites showing "rampant abuse of a smokescreen scientific research derogation."

The European Commission has taken Malta before the court for violating a ban on bird trapping. The Maltese government has opened the trapping season since 2020 claiming it is for a scientific study to ring birds and re-release them. A court hearing is set for Thursday.

BirdLife said on Monday that there were over 2,600 registered trapping sites for finches last autumn, and a greater number of trapping sites were operating illegally. BirdLife Malta's Nicholas Barbara estimated a minimum of 51,400 finches had been trapped from permitted sites and taken into captivity without being released. 

The hunters' association Kaċċaturi San Ubertu said it condemned hunting and trapping illegalities but it also condemned blatant deceit spread by Birdlife Malta to achieve its abolitionist aims.  

"We ask Birdlife Malta to substantiate their allegation about 51,000 trapped birds and other fallacies this season if they value their credibility. since we have no reserve saying it's all purposely fabricated," the association said. 

"Birdlife Malta's aim is to influence the European Courts of Justice days before it pronounces its verdict on trapping. A case built on similar fake news which inflates a few illegal instances to seem like an international disaster," the association said. 

It urged the government to safeguard Malta's  hunting and trapping practices and protect Malta's image, which was tarnished by unverified data compiled by 'extremists who without limits, want to ban hunting and trapping in our islands'.