Introducing... The Wild Birds Deregulation Unit
13th August 2013 - BirdLife Malta has reacted to the news that the government is going to push back the autumn hunting afternoon curfew to 7pm by describing the team that has made this decision as Malta's very own "Birds Deregulation Unit".
BirdLife Malta Executive Director Steve Micklewright said, "The media revealed that the government's new Wild Birds Regulation Unit was being staffed by hunting sympathisers last week. This decision clearly shows what happens when you put hunters in charge of bird conservation."
Licence for the illegal killing of protected birds
Describing the decision as a "licence for the illegal killing of protected birds", Mr Micklewright concluded that, "This decision clearly shows that bird conservation on Malta is not best served by the new Wild Birds Regulation Unit under the Parliamentary Secretary for Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights."
BirdLife Malta has sent an urgent letter to the Prime Minister asking for his direct intervention. Mr Micklewright added, "In our letter to the Prime Minister we call for bird conservation issues to be dealt with by the Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change, the decision to remove the curfew only emphasises that these issues are in the wrong hands."
The decision flies in the face of careful evidence placed before the Ornis Committee in July 2013. BirdLife Malta Conservation Manager Nicholas Barbara said, "We provided clear evidence to the Ornis Committee that when the 3pm curfew was not in place during the first week of October when bird of prey migration is still on, we have witnessed many more incidents of shooting at protected species in the afternoons compared to when the curfew was still in place in September. This clearly shows that the 3pm curfew was effective."
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