Ministry urges hunters to do talking at Ornis

The Environment Ministry yesterday threw the ball back into the hunters' court saying the opening of the hunting and trapping seasons would be discussed at the Ornis committee, which the hunters have shunned.

The Federation for Hunting and Conservation said earlier this week it expected the government to announce the opening of this year's seasons by Thursday, warning hunters would take to the streets if need be.

In a reply yesterday, the Environment Ministry said it expects hunters' and trappers' representatives to bring up their arguments at the Ornis meeting, scheduled for the last Friday of the month.

The ministry, however, did not make it clear whether the season would open or not. While the Ornis committee's role is to recommend, among other things, when the hunting season should open and close, it is the minister's prerogative to decide whether or not the season should open.

Hunters and trappers have not taken part in Ornis committee meetings since last November. They claim the committee cannot function properly given the existing hunting regulations.

The federation had said hunters were confused over what is permissible at law, giving rise to squabbles with the police.

Though hunters are putting pressure on the government to open the seasons, the European Commission has made it clear it expects no hunting will take place in Malta this coming spring.

After a meeting in Brussels with representatives of the government, the federation and BirdLife last month, the Commission said there was no ground for a derogation to be granted on spring hunting, adding that it expects the government to respect EU law.

The EU is insisting that Malta cannot go on permitting spring hunting because there is no legal basis on which the government can avail itself of a derogation under the EU Birds Directive.

The government says it is willing to challenge the European Commission's stand in the European Court of Justice.