28 April 2003

AN IMPORTANT WEEK FOR MALTA BUT A BLACK WEEK FOR MIGRATORY BIRDS
Last week was a very important one for the future of the small island of
Malta, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Recently the people
of Malta elected a government with a clear vision towards Europe. This
result confirmed a referendum which took place a month before. On Wednesday
16th April in Greece the Maltese Government signed the accession treaty by
means of which Malta will become a member of the EU from 1st May 2003.

The migratory birds were not so lucky. It was a black week for them. Due to
the sudden changes in weather a large number of birds decided to make the
annual crossing through the central Mediterranean. All over Malta the
hunters were ready for them, to shoot and slaughter as many as possible. It
seems that those hunters who voted against the EU because they wanted better
conditions wanted to show their anger through massacres. This disaster took
place whilst the Prime Minister of Malta and his team where in Greece to
sign the accession agreement. During the week and especially on 16th, 18th
and 20th April a large number of birds were killed. The Administrative Law
Enforcement Police did their best to control the situation, but the hunting
was so intense that they could not cope with the situation. A number of
hunters were identified by the Police and will be prosecuted in the coming
days.

The police also confiscated a number of injured birds which were placed in
the care of International Animal Rescue (Malta) (a member of EFAH). A number
of birds also arrived from Nature Trust and Birdlife Malta and the general
public. IARM received more than 20 birds in all, including a golden oriole,
marsh harriers, kestrels, scops owl, mediterranean gull, hoopoe, turtle
dove, hobbies and swallows. At present the hunting season is open only for
turtle doves and quails, due to a special agreement made by the Maltese
government with the EU. The illegal hunters ignored the law totally and went
hunting also on Friday and on Sunday afternoon when hunting is not allowed.

Environmentalists in Malta are very concerned about the present situation. A
Nature Trust member who brought over an injured bird said that the hunters
were apparently taking revenge for the pro-Europe vote, wanting to show
people that the gun is mightier than democracy. He expressed hope that in
the coming weeks the Government, through the Minister of Environment and the
Minister of Justice, will bring the situation under control. He also
expressed disappointment with Birdlife Malta, who in recent days did not
utter a single word against the massacre by the hunters.

Birdlife Malta at present forms part of a committee together with the
hunters and other members, set up to control the situation. It is worth
reminding our members that the government of Malta has stated officially
that Malta has been given a special concession and not a derogation. This
means that hunting in spring in the case of Malta is going to be permanantly
entrenched in the agreement. In the opinion of International animal Rescue
Malta, apart from the hunters who are massacring the birds, the Maltese
Government and the European Union are responsible for this situation. The EU
and its commissioner, Mr. Gunter Verheugen for enlargement and Ms. Margot
Wallström for the environment, have been warned on several occasions about
how the situation will develop in Malta (Max Farrugia, International Animal
Rescue Malta).

Généralités et Environnement

Malte : mauvaise semaine pour les oiseaux migrateurs (en anglais)