Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/785757
7 TIM DIACONO FEARS that hunters are under- reporting their kills have been reignited, with new figures show- ing that only 10% of them even re- ported shooting a bird in the first two and a half months of the last autumn hunting season. While 1,000 hunters reported catching 12,600 birds amongst themselves between the start of the season (1st October) and 15 December, the remaining 9,600 did not report a single catch. The season closed on 31 January. Other statistics – revealed dur- ing the last meeting of the Ornis Committee, the government's ad- visory body on hunting – are more indicative yet. Hunters declared shooting 121,265 birds in the 2014 hunting season, 82,327 in 2015, and only 12,876 in the most recent season, as of 15 December. Most evidently, declared catches of song thrush dropped from 61,176 in 2014 to 36,866 in 2015, to 8,693 in 2016. Catches of common starling plummeted from 32,521 in 2014 to 24,576 in 2015 to 2,132 in 2016. The declared catches of quail – which the government will provide as evidence to the European Com- mission to justify opening a spring hunting season for the bird – also plummeted sharply, from 2,326 in 2014 and 2,158 in 2015 to 246 in 2016. Sergei Golovkin, head of the Wild Bird Regulation Unit (WBRU), insisted that the hunters' figures were accurate and argued that the low percentage of hunters who de- clared a kill boiled down to a lack of interest, poor bird migration, and adverse weather conditions. "It cannot be assumed that all li- censed people actually took part in the hunting season," he said dur- ing the last Ornis meeting in De- cember. "Moreover, those who did practise hunting had done so with a varied intensity. Some hunters may have gone out only once or twice and did not bag anything." He blamed the lower turtle dove catch on poor migration and the fact that the hunting season for them was shortened to the month of September last year. As for quail, he argued that the bird's presence in Malta last sea- son tended to coincide with bad weather, hindering hunters from catching them. Golovkin also claimed that the 2016 figures for song thrush and starlings are accurate and that hunters had actually over-report- ed catches in previous years. He pinned this 'phenomenon' on the new digital live reporting system that was introduced last season, to replace the Carnet de Chasse booklet that hunters used to fill in manually and submit to the WB- RU at the end of the season. "The new system has a greater sense of immediacy, as opposed to the system where hunters routinely filled in the Carnet de Chasse booklets at the end of the season 'from memory', possibly resulting in exaggerated reports. However, BirdLife Malta is insisting that the statistics add weight to its long-standing claim that many hunters simply do not report their kills, as they are legally obliged to do. "Migration fluctuations are normal, but the fact that hunt- ers' declared catches for all birds have plummeted across the board indicates that there is something wrong," BirdLife conservation manager Nicholas Barbara told MaltaToday. "The new digital reporting system is quite compli- cated and should have been intro- duced gradually, as it is clear that it isn't providing accurate results. Sometimes I wonder whether the WBRU's role is actually to regulate the hunting season or to find sorry excuses to justify under-report- ing." tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt JURGEN BALZAN A group of activists are holding a silent gathering outside the Safi detention centre in solidarity with the nine Malian migrants who were arrested three months ago ahead of their planned deporta- tion. The protest will be held in the evening of 14 February, Valen- tine's Day, in what will mark the third month since the migrants were rounded up and detained. It is being organised jointly by the aditus Foundation, Moviment Graffitti, Integra Foundation, JRS and the Critical Institute. It will be the first action since a group of activists and academics launched the 'Free the Nine' cam- paign to pressure the authorities into releasing the migrants. The nine Malians are the re- maining few of a total of 33 co- nationals who were detained on 16 November last year, as part of a joint EU programme which saw the EU sign a deal with Mali to provide funds to Mali in return for its agreement to accept failed asylum seekers and aid in fighting human smugglers. The group of migrants – some of whom have been living in Mal- ta for the past eight years – used to regularly report to the police headquarters to get their papers renewed. However, on this day, they appeared for their appoint- ment to renew their documents, only to end up being detained and taken to the detention centre with plans to deport them. Four of them were later released following a review carried out by the Office of the Refugee Com- missioner. In December, a further 15 migrants were released, fol- lowed by another four. The Court case to free the nine remaining detainees continues tomorrow. Lawyer Gianluca Cap- pitta told MaltaToday that in the last sitting a foreign affairs minis- try representative confirmed that all detainees have been identified and listed, yet no documents were presented in court. "I have summoned a representa- tive from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to present any and all documents relative to the Ma- lian's deportation and with a view of asking whether progress is be- ing registered on the deportation procedure but I suspect that none will be presented because they will simply say that these are privi- leged documents," Cappitta said. During the last sitting, the Judge pointed out that the detention of the nine Malians will not be toler- ated unless progress is registered on the deportation procedures. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 FEBRUARY 2017 News OPEL SHOWROOM MDINA ROAD, QORMI, QRM9010 MALTA T. +356 2269 2122 E. OPELSALESMOTORSINC.COM.MT W. OPEL.COM.MT FB. OPELMALTAMI *THIS IS A LIMITED STOCK OFFER. TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY "HAPPY SAVINGS" FROM OPEL OTHER SUPERB STOCK OFFERS AVAILABLE – VISIT OPEL TODAY ASTRA Essentia 1.4 (incl of scrap scheme) €16,250 WAS €19,950 (incl. scrap scheme) NOW CORSA Essentia 1.2 (incl of scrap scheme) €11,800 WAS €14,800 (incl. scrap scheme) NOW ADAM Jam Limited 1.2 (incl of scrap scheme) €13,300 WAS €14,400 (incl. scrap scheme) NOW MOKKA Essentia 1.6 (incl of scrap scheme) €19,000 WAS €22,350 NOW Only 10% of hunters report kills as catch figures plummet Hunters' declared autumn catches plummet by around 100,000 birds, raising fears of under-reporting The WBRU has insisted the hunting figures are accurate, but BirdLife has warned it is evidence of under-reporting 2014 2015 2016 (as of 15 December) Song thrush 61,176 36,866 8,693 Common starling 32,521 24,576 2,132 Skylark 14,623 9,966 965 Turtle dove 6,614 5,709 123 Common quail 2,326 2,158 246 Five most hunted birds in autumn Protest outside detention centre in solidarity with arrested Malians