BirdLife Malta yesterday sent open letters to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and to Opposition Leader Alfred Sant, calling on them to clearly explain their respective positions with regard to spring hunting.
On Wednesday, the European Commission sent its final warning to the Maltese Government, threatening to take Malta to the European Court of Justice for violating the Birds’ Directive if it continues to allow the hunting of turtle doves and quail during spring.
In his letter to Gonzi, Birdlife president Joseph Mangion said: “Your government has to date allowed a hunting season which is thus illegal in terms of the Birds Directive for four years, that is for every year that Malta has been a member of the European Union.
“Following the issue of this final written warning and should Malta fail to comply, Commissioner Dimas has informed BirdLife Malta in writing that the Commission will have no choice but to take the case before the European Court of Justice ... In light of your government’s recent positive statements about protecting our natural environment it is now the time to put words into action.
“We therefore appeal to you to decide in the best interest of our country and for the common good of the people of the European Union and express yourself clearly and unequivocally, by declaring an end to spring hunting once and for all,” Mangion concluded his letter to Gonzi.
In his letter to Sant, Mangion said: “To date, we note that the Malta Labour Party has sent conflicting messages on this issue. Earlier this year you declared on the TVM programme Xarabank that you have no choice but to respect EU legislation as well as what has been agreed in the accession treaty."
However, he said, MLP deputy leader Michael Falzon during a meeting addressing hunters in Zebbug earlier this month, allegedly stated that the ‘MLP would not let any foreigner interfere in what Maltese do and that the hunting dates would be fixed by MLP.’
According to Birdlife’s letter, Falzon allegedly also promised that the MLP are ready to battle in the European Courts to retain spring hunting and trapping.
“In view of the above, we are, therefore, asking you, both as leader of the MLP as well as Leader of the Opposition, to clarify your party’s position on the matter, particularly given the Reasoned Opinion sent by the Commission to Malta.
“BirdLife Malta furthermore calls on you as leader of the MLP to clearly state whether the alleged statements attributed to Michael Falzon were actually made by him and, if this is the case, whether this represents the official position of the party,” Mangion said in his letter to Sant.
Asked for his reaction to the Birdlife Malta letter, Sant told MaltaToday: “I have just received the letter and I will reply to it. I will not comment about it at this stage.”
The Prime Minister could not be reached for a reaction by the time we went to print yesterday.