BirdLife Malta ‘will only communicate’ with Environment Minister on hunting and trapping
The future of the conservation of wild birds, and indirectly the hunting and trapping situation in Malta, remains in limbo following the decision made by Prime Minister Robert Abela to place the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) under the remit of Minister for Gozo Clint Camilleri, BirdLife Malta said in a statement.
BirdLife Malta has not only described this decision as diabolical, but said it has also shown “how it is illegal within the present legislation, and this led us to present a judicial protest against the government.”
“To date, the government has yet to justify this decision, not only on moral grounds, but now also on legal grounds. In these circumstances BirdLife Malta has formally written to Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia to inform him that as stipulated by Malta’s environment laws it will only be recognising and communicating with him in regard to any issue related to the conservation of wild birds’ regulations, including hunting and trapping.”
BirdLife Malta said that the Environment Protection Act and the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations legally recognise the Minister for the Environment as the only minister responsible for environment protection and for any authority relating to it. Moreover, both Malta’s national environment law and the subsidiary legislation which regulates bird protection – and as such, the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU) itself – also state, black on white, that the same unit should be established within the ministry responsible for the environment.”
BirdLife Malta said that any decisions or actions to be taken by WBRU and eventually the Ornis Committee, including appointments and legislations not under the Minister for the Environment, should be considered illegitimate.
“In view of the hunting and trapping seasons which have just come to a close in January and the upcoming seasons, in particular the spring hunting season for this year, the ongoing situation has brought uncertainty on the way forward as regards the manner in which future seasons should be regulated,” the statement read.
BirdLife Malta CEO Mark Sultana said: “We hope to see this resolved in the most logical way, that of having the WBRU and the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations remain under the Minister for the Environment. We are optimistic and in the meantime we hope that Minister for the Environment Aaron Farrugia is not used as a rubber stamp for Clint Camilleri’s decisions.”