Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/646116
HUNTING and trapping should be prohibited at a planned nation- al nature park at Zonqor Point, BirdLife Malta has insisted. "Nature parks should be living museums where the public can ex- perience and enjoy nature," Bird- Life chief executive Mark Sultana said in a statement. "Allowing hunting and trap- ping in these areas clashes badly with the concept of a nature park. Hunting and trapping take away nature, and never supplement it. During the hunting seasons, very few people will be able to enjoy the park and will be barred from walk- ing freely because of hunting and trapping." Environment minister Leo Brin- cat on Friday told a public consul- tation meeting that hunting and trapping will be allowed at the proposed Nwadar park, as the gov- ernment "doesn't want to hinder any hobbies". Jason Bonnici, from the consul- tative council of the south and a member of the Environment and Resources Authority Board, said a balance would be reached between citizens' recreational needs, the farmers, and hunters and trappers. "Other parks have succeeded in this and the management of the park will help the balance," he said. However, Sultana warned that visitors to the Majjistral Nature Park in Mellieha complain that hunting and trapping are rampant there, while hunters and trappers object to having visitors walking about. "Hunting and trapping have been tolerated at the Majjistral Nature Park simply because the authori- ties lack the moral resolve to com- prehend the negative impact of hunting and trapping on the natu- ral environment," he said. "Nwadar can never be a nature park if hunting and trapping is allowed, and we urge the Prime Minister to take the bold step of banning hunting and trapping from it." Kaccaturi San Ubertu (KSU) has welcomed the Ornis committee's decision recommending the ap- plication of a derogation for spring hunting this season. Both the quail and the turtle dove have recently been classi- fied as 'vulnerable' and KSU has recommended a "precautionary reduction in daily hunting hours". Their recommendations included the introduction of wider scien- tific studies backed by a compen- satory breeding programme for the turtle dove – both funded by hunters – but recommended no changes to the current quail hunt- ing season. "These recommendations reflect the fact that hunting of the quail is unaffected by the reclassifica- tion of turtle dove. Though still considered as a species that can be hunted and classified as vul- nerable, the lack of scientific data on the turtle dove is highlighted by the International Union of the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)," KSU said. The group noted BirdLife Malta's vote at the Ornis committee in fa- vour of special measures to fur- ther reduce the impact of spring hunting. KSU argued that after their direct involvement to ban the practice, BirdLife "still fail" to recognize that special measures – namely a short time frame, small quotas and strict supervision – are already in practice. These determine that, in com- parison to two to three million turtle doves shot by other member states, Malta's derogation imple- ments special measures "in line with the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling" that ensure a negligi- ble impact in spring. Being aware of derogation pa- rameters related to any reclas- sification in status, KSU augured that the government carefully as- sess Malta's very "specific circum- stances" referred to by the ECJ when endorsing Malta's right to derogate. KSU contended that any unnec- essary limitations only impinge on the ECJ's judgment permitting a "satisfactory solution" for Maltese hunters in spring on two specific species. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 28 FEBRUARY 2016 News BirdLife wants hunting ban at Nwadar Zonqor Point, site of the planned Nwadar nature park