{14.04.15}The island nation of Malta is once again providing an ugly example of how an entrenched interest group can continually defeat legal protection for wildlife dispite majority support for such measures. The annual bird hunt for migrating turtle doves and quail is about to begin. It is the only country in the EU bloc that allows an annual hunt of migrating species. Although the hunt is regulated, critics argue many other migrating birds are also killed by trigger-happy nimrods during the season that lasts until the end of April. Conservationists say European turtle dove populations have declined by 80% since 1980. Birds killed in Malta are the ones that have survived winter in northern Africa and are returing to Europe to breed.So loses in Malta have a heavy impact on a species total population. Hunters say their hunt is "sustainable".
There are ten thousand licenses hunters on Malta and more than a few unlicensed ones. Although there are stiff penalties for violations, enforcement is difficult and sometimes lacadaisical. The tiny islands main newspaper, Times of Malta, says the government is under continuous pressure and the hunters have political backing. So a special interest of about 10-12,000 people are able hold sway over a population of just over 400,000. In 2008 the European Court of Justice ordered the Maltese government to ban the spring hunt and stop bird trapping. Successive Maltese governments continue to pass legislation allowing for EU exemptions to apply to the directive. Malta is a country with one person for every 1200 square kilometer. So when thousands of hunters take the field in April, blasting away at anything that flies overhead, there is no space for those inhabitants and visitors who only want to marvel at the birds.