Hunters not amused as season draws to a close

The decision to close the season for hunting at sea in a week's time, four weeks earlier than usual, is irking the hunters' federation, which has complained that this decision was not dictated by Brussels.

Instead, the hunters said, this was a clear result of the ministry's persistence to follow the lines defined in Legal Notice 79/06 last March.

Last Saturday the Ministry announced that the season for all hunting and trapping, including hunting at sea and the trapping of song birds, shall close on January 30.

Sources said the Ornis Committee had recommended that hunting from land and trapping should close on January 20 while hunting at sea should close on February 28.

The federation said that through the notice, the Minister was not only breaching a promise made by the Nationalist Party to hunters and trappers before the last election and the referendum for EU membership, but was also insulting the integrity of the persons he had appointed on the Ornis board.

Contacted yesterday a Ministry spokesman said the government reiterated that all decisions were taken in conformity with the EU Birds Directive to ensure hunting was practiced in a sustainable manner.

The reasons for the government's decision are still not known since the legal notice establishes that they have to be communicated to the Ornis Committee within three weeks of the publication of the legal notice which specifies the closing dates. The legal notice has not yet been published.