Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/785757
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2017 6 Derogation cannot be defended, AG warned CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 Trapping of all birds is prohibited by EU law and was phased out and eventu- ally banned in Malta in 2009, in line with its EU accession treaty. However, Roderick Galdes, junior minister responsible for hunting, reintroduced the trapping of seven species of wild finches – on the as- sumption that Malta can derogate from EU law in a similar fashion to spring hunting. But the AG's office had made it abundantly clear that should the government press ahead with ap- plying the derogation it would be doing so against its express and consistent legal advice, the sources said. When applying the derogation, the government had argued that an article in the EU Birds Directive allows EU member states "where there is no other satisfactory solu- tion… to permit, under strictly su- pervised conditions and on a selec- tive basis, the capture, keeping or other judicious use of certain birds in small numbers." However, the European Union's Environment Commission – spear- headed by former Labour minister Karmenu Vella – has argued that the traditional Maltese use of clap nets is a non-selective trapping style, and that trapping birds for leisure does not constitute a "judi- cious" reason to derogate. The government, through the Wild Birds Regulation Unit, did not heed the AG's advice and the chances of having the derogation upheld by the ECJ look slim. Sources told MaltaToday that the AG's office had told government officials within the environment ministry that it would not mislead the government into thinking that it had a strong case and reiterated that given its expertise on the mat- ter, it was clear that no amount of rhetoric would stop the ECJ from throwing out Malta's case. Despite this, the government made it clear that it was not sat- isfied with the legal advice and sought an independent legal opin- ion. Tomorrow, the Maltese govern- ment will be represented at the courts by the Attorney General, aided by the local law firm CCX Advocates and global law firm Stibbe. The European Commission will be represented by Maltese lawyer Ken Mifsud Bonnici and German lawyer Christoph Hermes, both le- gal advisors on environmental law. BirdLife Malta decried the prac- tice of finch trapping, warning that the birds are kept in small cages for hours in order to attract more finches to the trapping sites. "The stress of being handled, transported and kept in a confined space is often fatal," it said. The hunting federation FKNK has sent over 11,000 letters – each individually signed by a Maltese trapper – to Karmenu Vella, urging him to safeguard the "sociocultural tradition" of trapping. "Back in September, Vella had assured the FKNK that he would send us a general response to the letters," FKNK chief executive Lino Farrugia said in a statement. "As soon as we receive his response, we will publish it for the benefit of the thousands of citizens who have signed and sent a letter." News A finch in its minuscule cage hung up at trapping sites to attract other finches