Romania set to approve bird hunting during spring migration

A proposed law that would allow spring hunting and trespassing on private property in Romania could be approved Imminently, Bird Life International  has reported

This would mean birds could be legally killed during spring migration and goes against the Birds and Habitats Directives, as this is a critical time for migrating birds on their way to breed. The legislation would extend the legal hunting periods for up to 3 months, including spring migration, for 18 species of birds, mostly goose and duck species (Northern Pintail and Gargany among them). It is particularly threatening for non-target species like the endangered Red-breasted Goose, which forms mixed flocks with target species and then gets accidentally killed.

One of the other 18 species for which this law would apply is the Eurasian Skylark. It’s one of Romania`s most beloved birds and has been an inspiration for many great musicians all over the world. It is currently legal to hunt Skylark in Romania and five other EU countries - Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France and Malta. But the Skylark population in Europe has declined up to 50 percent since 1980, so extending the hunting period would only worsen the situation. Also, people are known to hunt under the guise of targeting skylark, but end up killing other species that are legally protected as well.

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FKNK: BirdLife’s possession of shot cuckoo may have been “breaking the law”

BY GOZO NEWS · APRIL 26, 2015

The hunters’ federation FKNK has said in a statement today that BirdLife “may have been breaking the law” when it was in possession of a protected bird on Thursday.

The FKNK was referring the BirdLife Malta’s statement on Thursday regarding a shot protected cuckoo, that was found by a dog walker at Mizieb.

The Federation’s statement said that it hoped in the future BirdLife would be more correct in its actions, since if it is found that a protected bird has been illegally shot, it increases the chances of the perpetrators being caught and prosecuted.

It is also possible that the injured cuckoo could have been saved and rehabilitated, the FKNK said.

The FKNK also said that is has made a request to the police to keep it informed of the outcome of the investigations.

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Malta rejects spring bird hunting ban

Joseph Muscat, Malta’s prime minister, says hunters have been given a last chance after a proposed ban is narrowly defeated in referendum

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome

Sunday 12 April 2015 18.13 BSTLast modified on Monday 13 April 201500.06 BST

The spring hunting of quail and turtle doves, an activity that is banned across Europe, will continue unabated in Malta after voters in a referendum rejected a proposed ban.

The historic referendum was decided on a razor thin margin, with just 2,220 more votes deciding against the ban out of a total of of 250,648 votes cast. The “yes” camp won 50.4% of the vote thanks to a strong showing for the pro-hunting contingent on the island of Gozo, which is part of Malta.

Polls before the vote on Saturday had shown a six-point lead for conservationists, who backed a ban.

Joseph Muscat, Malta’s prime minister, said the public had given a last chance for hunters to practise their tradition. “But hunters have to understand that the story has changed for them, totally. Practically half the people do not want spring hunting to continue,” he said. “They have to understand that they must respect the law in the spring hunting season that will open on Tuesday.”

BirdLife Malta, which led the campaign against spring hunting, described it as “missed opportunity to end the killing of birds in spring”.

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Malta braces for referendum over spring bird hunting

Vote could see the spring hunting of birds such as quail and turtle doves, which is outlawed in the rest of the EU, banned in Malta

Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Malta

Friday 10 April 2015 09.40 BSTLast modified on Saturday 11 April 201500.08 BST

Fiona Burrows is the kind of activist that hunters in Malta love to hate.

The Nottingham 30-year-old has been threatened, cursed at, and pushed around while doing the job she says she lives for: stealthily filming the illegal hunting of protected migratory birds and reporting perpetrators to the police.

Burrows takes precautions – she always parks her car facing an exit route and has even bought wigs to avoid detection by hunters – but she thinks these are probably not enough.

“Something bad is going to happen to me sooner or later,” she says. “It’s inevitable.”

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Spring hunting and its effect on birds of all species – Pascal Aloisio

BY GOZO NEWS · APRIL 7, 2015

Pascal Aloisio of Alternattiva Demokratika Zghazagh has written about spring hunting and its effect on birds of all species, saying “despite the continuous decline of European Turtle Dove and Quail populations, thousands of birds are still hunted each year in our country, both in autumn and spring. Although hunting in autumn does not represent a major concern for these species, spring hunting does.”

“Hunting these birds in spring while they’re on their way to their breeding grounds to reproduce will result in not only killing the individual birds but of course their offspring. Furthermore, a bird will reproduce every year, say for at least 5 years and hence the number of unborn chicks is multiplied. This results in the destruction of a whole generation and hence a decline in population,” said Pascal.

“The European Turtle Dove (Streptopelia turtur) may be legally hunted in autumn in 8 EU countries, including Malta.” Pascal pointed out that “an estimated two to four million birds are shot yearly. However, Malta is the only country in the EU which applies for a derogation to hunt this species in spring.”

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Casualties of spring hunting – Details released by BirdLife Malta

Published on Saturday, 3, May, 2014 at 20:12 in Malta News

This afternoon BirdLife Malta released photographs of the 18 injured and dead protected birds it received during the recent spring hunting season, together with descriptions of the injuries each bird had sustained after being shot illegally by hunters targeting these protected species.

Every one of these birds is protected in Malta and Europe, and every one was examined by a veterinarian and confirmed as having been shot.

The list of injuries sustained by these birds includes shattered wing and leg bones, severed limbs, open chest wounds, lead shotgun pellets lodged in the body and blinded eyes. BirdLife Malta’s conservation manager, Nicholas Barbara, said “In the three months from January 1st up to the start of the hunting season on April 12th we received just eight shot protected birds. The 18 birds we received during the hunting season came in just three weeks.”

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