Updated at 5.27pm 

The Ornis committee has voted down a proposal by hunters to lift a moratorium on the hunting of turtle doves in spring.

The government’s consultative committee - made up of conservationists, hunters and regulators - met on Tuesday and decided against a proposal by the hunter’s lobby, FKNK, to open a turtle dove hunting season after a two-year ban.

The Ornis Committee said in a statement that while the FKNK had voted in favour of its own proposal, BirdLife Malta and Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) representatives had voted against, with the chairman and three government appointees abstaining.

Nevertheless, the committee recommended that the government immediately open discussions with the European Commission “for a long-term solution to be reached on the matter”, another of FKNK’s proposals.

The hunters’ lobby had argued in a report submitted to the government and Opposition earlier this month that Malta was the only EU member state, out of 10 where turtle dove is hunted, which had imposed such a moratorium.

It also argued that Malta was the only state with a European Court of Justice verdict, dating back to September 2009, stating that the autumn season was not a satisfactory alternative to spring hunting.

A vote in the Ornis Committee on recommending discussions with the EU was carried with the support of the FKNK, the chairman and the three government appointees.

The moratorium on hunting turtle dove, a protected species environmentalists and EU lawmakers are adamant should be off-limits, was enforced by the government in 2017 after the Commission threatened legal action against if the practice was allowed to continue.

For the past two years, hunters have only been allowed to hunt quail in spring.

Turtle doves are considered a “near threatened” species across the EU as population numbers have been steadily decreasing since the 1980s.

Environmentalists argue that, although technically illegal since 2017, turtle dove hunting has continued unabated since then, with the legal quail hunting season used as a smokescreen.

Government and Birdlife react

In a statement, the government said that it would holding talks in Brussels to determine the principles upon which any eventual future derogations  on turtle dove would be applied. 

"We remain committed to preserving Maltese cultural practices while respecting regulations and sustainability," the government said. 

Birdlife, on the other hand, argued that the Ornis vote was an indication that spring hunting should be phased out completely. 

"Be bold," the NGO urged the government and prime minister, "and take this signal either as a reason for spring hunting to be abolished altogether or, if a quail hunting season is still to be opened as recommended by Ornis last week, this should not extend further than mid-April to avoid the peak migration of turtle dove."