Thu 21
Jun 2018 12.52 BSTLast modified on Fri 22 Jun
2018 10.43 BST
Malta has
broken EU law by allowing the hunting and trapping of several finch species,
the European court has ruled.
The
Mediterranean island will face potentially substantial fines unless it ends a
derogation it introduced in 2014 allowing the songbirds to be captured.
An
estimated 110,000 finches have been caught by hunters
since then, along with many other wild birds such as song thrushes and golden
plovers.
Catherine
Bearder, the Liberal Democrat MEP, hailed the verdict as “a welcome judgment
that confirms what we have all known for too long. The slaughter of these
wonderful birds is illegal and unsustainable. The EU must step in and take
action to stop the killing without delay.”
Finch-trapping
was once common across Europe but the practice has been progressively rolled
back by the EU’s birds directive, which aims to conserve avian species and
prevent habitat destruction.
In Malta,
the continued use of clap nets to trap birds has led to the near absence of
many nesting species of migratory birds, according to BirdLife Europe.
Ariel
Brunner, the group’s policy chief, said: “Today’s court judgment sends a
message that the rule of law must be respected. It should mark the end of
indiscriminate trapping, which is a completely unsustainable and barbaric
practice.”
According
to BirdLife, the court verdict effectively outlaws the trapping of finches in
Malta, which had been due to resume with this autumn’s hunting season. It will
directly apply to seven protected species: siskins, goldfinches, European
serins, linnets, greenfinches, common chaffinches and hawfinches.
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