Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1526919
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 MARCH 2022 OPINION 2 maltatoday EXECUTIVE EDITOR KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt Letters to the Editor, MaltaToday, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt Letters must be concise, no pen names accepted, include full name and address maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 SEPTEMBER 2024 Government should stop giving trappers false hope Editorial MALTA has been trying to appease trappers for years by adopting derogations that attempt to justify the capture of wild finches in defiance of the EU Birds Directive. Every attempt so far has failed to convince the European Commission and a European Court of Justice ruling last week shot down the 'scientific research' justification pursued over the past few years. Under the guise of scientific research, gov- ernment allowed all registered trappers to capture finches using the traditional claptrap nets on the premise that the birds would be released again to the wild. It was supposed to be a conservation programme of sorts, conveniently labelled by the hunting lobby as 'citizen science'. However, reality showed this was everything but a scientific exercise. Science was simply used as an excuse to allow thousands of trap- pers to continue capturing finches. The po- licing of this scientific programme was also questionable. The ECJ saw through the sham. The judg- ment was clear enough: "The Republic of Malta has failed to establish that its derogat- ing regime pursues a research objective be- cause that regime is – not based on scientific methods; gives rise to defective application; pursues an objective unconnected with wild finches conservation and, in any event; is in- appropriate for attaining the declared objec- tive." The ECJ ruled that the Finches Project "does not establish a genuine research pur- pose" thus shooting down the government's bogus justification. Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri, who is also responsible for hunting regulations, has said the government will be studying the judg- ment. It is clear from his statements that the government does not intend to give up its quest and we can expect it to put forward a new set of rules over the coming months to justify the scientific basis for finch trapping to be allowed. Camilleri has tried to make light of the ECJ's ruling, almost suggesting that with a few adjustments here and there, trappers will be able to pursue their hobby. The truth is that any scientific justification for trapping would require major surgery of existing rules and not a few simple adjust- ments. For starters, no scientific argument can ev- er be justified if the rules allow all registered trappers – thousands of them – to go out in the field. No scientific argument can be justi- fied unless the few trappers that are recruit- ed for this exercise have some form of basic training in scientific methods. No scientific argument can be justified unless the rigorous methods are adequately monitored. And the decision-makers setting out the rules and making recommendations to government should be scientific persons and not simple lobbyists. But it is very unlikely the government will go down this strict route because it would mean that only a few dozen trappers at most would be tasked with capturing finches. The plain truth is that government's efforts to try and find a plausible justification for finch trapping only have one aim – to allow all trappers the possibility of going out into the countryside and capture finches with the least restrictions possible. Camilleri is intel- ligent enough to know this is not possible and that any attempt to camouflage this in scientific language will be shot down by Eu- ropean judges. The ECJ has seen through government's ruse and the latest judgment is clear enough, which begs the question as to why Camilleri wants to persist in leading trappers down the rabbit hole. Government's insistence that it can deliv- er a derogation that would allow trappers to continue enjoying their hobby is not only deceiving but constitutes a waste of taxpayer money in legal fees to defend the indefensi- ble in Europe. Government should stop giving trappers false hope that it can magically appease them unless it decides to breach EU regulations, ignore court rulings and face the unsavoury consequences for doing so. Such an approach would be irresponsible. Trappers should stop hoping government can give them what they want. They must come to terms with the fact that their hobby has reached the end of the line. Quote of the Week "The Finches Project does not establish a genuine research purpose and hence cannot be considered as being justified under the derogation of Article 9(1)(b) of the [Birds] Directive." European Court of Justice ruling that confirmed Malta's decision to allow finch trapping was illegal. MaltaToday 10 years ago 21 September 2014 Hunting ban precedes Vella grilling on hunting credentials THE hunting ban announced by Prime Min- ister Joseph Muscat yesterday has completely overruled the Ornis Committee, the body charged with recommending the opening dates for hunting, which had proposed the opening of the autumn hunting season and the lifting of the September 3pm curfew. It vindicated accusations that the police's Administrative Law Enforcement unit could not prevent hunters from breaking the law due to several transfers made before the start of the hunting season. Muscat was informed by the prohunting junior minister Roderick Galdes, that he could no longer guarantee that hunters' illegalities would be stopped. That came after the slaughter of White Storks, an elegant large bird associated with parental devotion and good luck, the killing of which is environmental sacrilege in Euro- pean society. Muscat was worried that the week before the Brussels hearing of commissioner-des- ignate Karmenu Vella, who has yet to be grilled by MEPs on his credentials for the post of Environment Commissioner, the massacre of protected birds in Malta would embarrass the Maltese nominee and rekin- dle attention about Malta's appalling record of illegal hunting of protected species. Vella has been surprisingly entrusted with the environment portfolio, apart from mar- itime and fisheries, by Commission president Jean Claude Juncker. Most of the questions which Karmenu Vella, former tourism minister, is bound to have to answer will focus on the Birds Directive. ...