Illegal hunting must stop, EU commissioner says

The European Commission is determined to take "all the necessary action" in line with existing EU legislation and procedures should the hunting regulations in Malta be flouted, Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom has said.

In a letter sent to BirdLife Malta, Ms Wallstrom said that EU legislation should have been implemented and enforced from the first day of EU membership.

She was replying to a letter sent by BirdLife Malta in late April after what they claimed to be a bloodbath in the skies.

BirdLife president Joseph Mangion had also urged the EU Environment Commissioner to send a monitoring mission to Malta during the bird migration season and called for an immediate end to the spring derogation, which allows the hunting of a number of species in spring.

In her letter, a copy of which was seen by The Times, Commissioner Wallstrom said she had already specifically drawn the attention of the Maltese authorities to the problem of weak enforcement of the existing legislation on the protection of birds.

Furthermore, she pointed out that a priority for the Maltese Ornis committee - which is in charge of bird protection - is to produce a strategy for the enforcement of legislation.

Ms Wallstrom said the Commission will continue to monitor and report on the progress made by Malta in working towards compliance with obligations stemming from the Birds Directive and has published a strategy for monitoring the process leading up to the first day of membership.

As of May 1, Malta was required to implement and enforce the Wild Birds Directive, with the exception of the transition period granted to allow the trapping of seven species of finches until December 2008.

"We hope you will be assured of the Commission's interest in putting an end to illegal killing of birds in Malta and also our interest in that all EU countries respect EU legislation," Ms Wallstrom wrote.

Only last Saturday, the police's administrative law enforcement unit intercepted a hunter who tried to gun down a spoonbill at Salina.

BirdLife said the police were doing their utmost to control the situation but in the prevailing circumstances they were overwhelmed by the extent of the illegal hunting.