Trapping season opens for golden plover and song thrush on Saturday

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Trapping season to open for golden plover and song thrush on SaturdayThe autumn trapping season for the golden plover and the song thrush will open from this coming Saturday, the 20th of October, after the government said it “welcomed recommendations from the ORNIS Committee.”

This was announced by Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights Clint Camilleri in a statement, who also said that “an agreement has been reached in principle with the European Commission regarding the parameters according to which the season will open.”

“This was made possible after various meetings held in the past weeks, where together with government officials in Malta’s representation in the EU and officials from the Ministry, an agreement was reached with the European Commission which effectively means that in principle and as the derogation is applied, we are addressing the Commission’s serious doubts in its submissions when the post reasoned opinion was communicated back in 2012,” he added.

The Parliamentary Secretary went on to say that “we understand that the European Commission had the intention of proceeding with the case against Malta if Malta had applied the derogation according to the parameters which used to be applied in previous years.”

He explained that however, “this government is respecting the European Court’s decision taken back in July 2018 regarding the trapping of finches.”

“The discussions with the European Commission have started so that the principles of the judgement handed down and the Commission’s considerations are discussed before we apply for a derogation re the trapping season for the golden plover and the song thrush,” said the Parliamentary Secretary.

“These discussions have reaped the fruits, and this leads us to an agreement about a number of principles particularly regarding selectivity, transparency, limited derogation in its own scope, and enforcement,” Clint Camilleri added.

“We understood the arguments put forward about selectivity where the primary aim is that during this season only the golden plover and the song thrush are captured,” he said.

He then said that the below is, therefore, being done:

– “enlarging the mesh of the net from a minimum of 30mm to 45mm, as also recommended by ORNIS.

– nets must be covered or removed before the trapper leaves the place and during any time that trapping is not permitted (meaning two hours after sunset till two hours before sunrise).”

Apart from this, “we have reduced the amount of live capturing stations by permitting the trapper to use one station instead of two stations,” he explained.

“Every station can have a maximum of two live capturing stations. We are also introducing a national quote of 5000 for the song thrush and 700 for the golden plover,” he said.

The places live capturing stations, that are registered for this season are public on WBRU website, for the first time they are being published for the public while protecting the trapper’s privacy, he said.

Parliamentary Secretary Clint Camilleri emphasised that “apart from this, as was done during the past weeks, an open dialogue with European Commission will continue.”

It was also agreed that to address the enforcement aspect, during this season more resources will be allocated for enforcement and are to be distributed according to different zones as described in the procedures introduced in the law, the Parliamentary Secretary said.

The respective laws will be published in the Government Gazette on Friday. The government has confirmed that it will not be issuing the notice for the derogation regarding trapping for finches.

Parliamentary Secretary Clint Camilleri stated that, “we believed that with a reasoned effort we could reach an agreement and through these discussions, the government has shown and is showing clearly the intention of supporting the trapping season however in a sustainable way,”

He concluded by saying that “these parameters are to be observed and we are therefore insisting on compliance with these measures that we are taking.”

File photo of Song Thrush by BirdLife Malta

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