The European Commission’s action this week cements a growing perception that it is now ‘game over’ for Malta’s most notorious national pastime: shooting migratory birds during the breeding season.
Last Thursday, the Commission announced that, after numerous written warnings, it would be opening a case against Malta in the European Court of Justice for permitting hunting in spring. Malta remains the only member state to openly defy EU law on this issue, after Finland and Cyprus both brought their legislation in line with the 1979 Birds Directive.
The Commission also specified that it will request the Court to issue an inhibitory injuncture against the government if it fulfils its promise to open the season in 2008. This measure, which would come into force immediately, effectively rules out the possibility of legal hunting this spring.
But with elections now imminent, the responsible Ministry refuses to rule out the possibility, arguing that the decision ultimately depends on the recommendations of the Ornis Committee.
In an interview with MaltaToday (page 10) Environment Minister George Pullicino also insists that there is no danger of Malta being fined as a result of the ECJ case.
“Fines will only be imposed on us if we defy the decision of the court. We have already decided that we will not ignore any decision taken by the court,” he said.
But the court action is not limited to 2008 spring season. The Commission has been urging Malta to ban spring hunting ever since EU accession in 2004. Consequently Malta will be facing charges, not just for this year’s season, but for every season over the past four years.
Whether this latest twist will result in the imposition of fines remains to be seen; but in terms of its international reputation, Malta has already paid a hefty price for its insistence on allowing spring hunting.
Last July, the Royal Society For the Protection of Birds presented a petition with 115,000 signatures, demanding that Malta “respect the EU bird protection laws, make sure those laws are enforced and stop spring hunting in Malta.” The petition was left on the doorstep of Castille, after Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi refused to meet the RSPB delegation on three separate occasions.
On January 18, The Wall Street Journal – a New York-based broadsheet with a worldwide circulation of more than 2 million – dedicated a front page story to the issue of spring hunting in Malta: “one place you wouldn’t want to be a falcon.”
Apart from highlighting numerous hunting abuses, the article also alluded to the recent attack on Ray Vella, the BirdLife park ranger who was shot in the face by a hunter.
On the same day, Italian newspaper La Repubblica quoted the World Wildlife Fund’s Anna Giordano on the unacceptable levels of illegal hunting in Malta. “What I saw in Malta I have never seen anywhere else. In front my eyes they killed an osprey. They shoot black storks, honey buzzards, lesser spotted eagles: all protected species…”
For all this, the government of Malta remains committed to fighting the case in the ECJ on behalf of the hunters – despite the fact that the same hunters have now taken Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi himself to court, arguing that their human rights have been breached.
Evidently, Maltese hunters intend to go down guns blazing.