Malta Pages - What Can Be Done?
At least this March there will be a six-strong delegation from the European Commission tasked with assessing the scale of the hunting problem on Malta. It is possible that this delegation could lead to the imposition of fines on the Maltese Government (in the order of 200,000 Euros per day) for failure to meet obligations of accession to the Union. The delegation has come about as a direct result of letters of complaint which still arrive every week.
So keep those letter-writing skills in practice and write to the Commission's DG Environment. At the moment UNESCO celebrates seven World Heritage Sites on Malta but all of these are for cultural reasons. Malta has a fascinating prehistory with some of the oldest Neolithic sites in Europe (9000 years old).
The January edition of Scientific American tells how this ancient culture went extinct because of its preoccupation with death. A major attitude change is desperately needed on Malta so that the annual passage of spectacular raptors is seen as a celebration of living rather than dead birds and it is overdue that Buskett Gardens and other localities in the Central Mediterranean Flyway are given recognition by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites for this wonderful natural phenomenon to be incorporated into the Maltese tourism industry.
In a recent study by Delloites where 391,000 visitors to Malta were interviewed, 34% of these tourists noticed the hunting and 20% had a bad experience because of it. If these tourists decide not to return Deloittes demonstrated that 1400 Maltese jobs could be at risk. The Hawk and Owl Trust believes that Malta is missing out on a major contribution to its tourism business from properly marketed bird tourism. The migrations correspond to 'shoulder months' in the tourism season when hotel and hostel beds are 20-50% empty (see figure). We are currently analysing the economic significance of bird tourism on Malta and will be lobbying the Maltese Government for changes in policing, based on these figures.
If you fancy watching raptors cross the Central Med this Spring, Andrea Corso is looking for volunteers to help survey in Italy 20 March - 25 May. You may contact Andrea at: Via Camastra 10, 96100 Siracusa, Italy or better via e-mail at: voloerranteATyahoo.it
Footnote
The illegal killing of birds of prey is not a problem confined to Malta - wildlife crime continues on game keeping estates in the UK. A beautiful young Osprey was shot and injured in southern England last Autumn but it was rescued and nursed back to health by the Hawk Conservancy Trust who then released it last September equipped with a satellite tracking device. The bird managed to cross the sea to Spain only to be shot and killed as it arrived on Spanish soil.
These young and naive birds grow up in North European countries where they are carefully conserved but their trust in human nature is badly misplaced when they migrate over the wrong bits of land. There is still a lot of work to be done to change attitudes to birds of prey here and abroad and we need your help and continued support in this work.
These young and naive birds grow up in North European countries where they are carefully conserved but their trust in human nature is badly misplaced when they migrate over the wrong bits of land. There is still a lot of work to be done to change attitudes to birds of prey here and abroad and we need your help and continued support in this work.
The Hawk and Owl Trust is a Registered Charity No: 1058565
