Some 350 turtle doves bred in captivity by hunters were released into the wild earlier in May, the hunters’ federation said.

It said in a statement on Saturday that, through the intervention of Economy Minister Silvio Schembri and the Responsible Gaming Foundation, eight of the birds were fitted with satellite tracking transmitters costing €14,000. 

Weight and wing measurements were recorded for these eight birds prior to release. 

Schembri released the first of the eight turtle doves fitted with the transmitters, which he named Ġanni.  He said that such collaboration complimented the foundation’s work to instil awareness on gambling addictions and aid victims to stay away from related vices by presenting alternatives.  

The federation said that its turtle doves captive breeding and release project was just one of several initiatives it had embarked upon to restock the wild population and enable spring hunting for the birds to once again become permissible.

It said that turtle doves do not breed in the wild on a regular basis and in any significant quantities on the Maltese islands and the released birds can serve as a compensation measure for turtle doves that may be taken from the wild in Malta.
 
Since its launch in 2017, the project has released hundreds of ringed turtle doves into the wild each year save for 2020 because of the COVID-19 situation.
   
The FKNK said it will publish periodical reports as and when necessary about the research part of this project.

The results should shed more concrete evidence about the turtle doves "reference populations" countries.