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3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 FEBRUARY 2022 NEWS 's not a diet, 's a lifty cnge Nutri�on helpline 8007 3307 Our free weight management programme will give you the necessary skills to maintain a healthy lifestyle. C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Piz Tajjeb tul Hajtek Newspaper Advert (Half Page) 2022 Final.pdf 1 09/02/2022 10:54:49 LUKE VELLA HUNTERS can get up to three different licences all incurring separate, 12-point penalties be- fore they are banned for poach- ing. The loophole could mean hunters who incur penalty points on one licence, can still carry out similar activities such as trapping or hunting at sea, where each activity is carried out on a separate licence. But far from a 'driving licence' type suspension for those that tot up 12 penalty points, hunt- ers on three licences technically have leeway for up to 36 penalty points. "Unlike the drivers licence, which is one licence for vari- ous vehicles, hunters could be docked 12 points for hunting on land but this will not stop them from hunting at sea, if they also have that licence," said BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana. "The intentions might be good here, but this is again a loophole. Government is either naive, or it is playing a game yet again. This does not send the message that hunters must respect the law. At the end of the day, enforcement is what stop poaching. And this points system should not stop the course of European Com- mission infringements on hunt- ing and trapping," Sultana said. The points system for hunting and trapping will be introduced with legal changes that will sim- plify licence suspension rules for poachers found guilty of flaunt- ing the law. The legal amendments will see various offences listed in the Conservation of Wild Birds and Conservation of Wild Rab- bits regulations subject to fixed- point deductions, ranging from two to four per offence. Four points will be knocked off for any hunter or trapper caught with illegal electronic equip- ment. Hunters and trappers who accumulate 12 or more points over a two-year period will have their licence suspended for one year. Anyone suspended will be barred from applying for any other related licences during their suspension period. But licence suspensions will from now on only be applicable to the offence committed, mean- ing a poacher caught shooting a protected bird will no longer have their trapping licence sus- pended too. Licence-holders will be allowed to appeal decisions before the Administrative Review Tribu- nal. While the appeal is pending, the two-year period for points deductions will remain in force, and points accumulated by law-breaking hunters will con- tinue to apply. Points will only be deducted from the total if an appeal is decided in the licence holder's favour. The legal amendments will revise the classification of a number of poaching offences, to make them subject to admin- istrative fines rather than court proceedings. The ministry did not provide a list of which of- fences are being reclassified. Administrative fines will not undergo any changes. lvella@mediatoday.com.mt Poaching penalties' loophole: hunters have three licences