Malta gives go ahead to shooting of 5,000 endangered turtle doves

Conservationists urge EU to take action against Malta for continuing the spring hunt despite the birds recently being added to ‘red list’ of species at risk of being wiped out

Patrick Barkham

Wednesday 16 March 2016 14.10 GMT

Last modified on Thursday 17 March 201612.27 GMT

Hunters in Malta will be permitted to shoot 5,000 turtle doves this spring despite the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently adding the migratory bird to the “red list” of species at risk of being wiped out.

The Maltese government, the only EU member to allow recreational spring hunting, said it was taking “special measures” to minimise the impact of its shoot on the bird’s plummeting population, cutting the shooters’ allowance from 11,000 birds.

But conservationists said continuing the spring hunt went against the best scientific advice and appealed for the EU to take action against Malta.

“The government has taken the wrong political decision,” said Mark Sultana, chief executive of Birdlife Malta. “Rather than giving weight to the scientific data they opted to open a season with limitations. We do not believe that there is enough will and resources to ensure those limitations will be kept.”

The turtle dove population has fallen by 96% in Britain since 1970 and its numbers have fallen across Europe by more than a third in the last 16 years.

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