Malta Pages - Why Malta is Still so Bad For Birds of Prey
Malta is the last weak link for conservation in the chain of islands and peninsulas connecting this migration route. A special police unit has also been appointed to the task in Malta but this is understaffed and not yet effective enough to control some 16,000 hunters. The situation is made worse by the acute vulnerability of migrating birds when they arrive on this small, isolated island group and, unlike in Italy, hunters do not have alternate resident game to shoot through the year.
For political reasons the governing party in Malta is nervous of alienating the hunting community and has recently struck a deal with the European Union which undermines some of the objectives of the 'Birds Directive'. Despite these factors, the situation on Malta is improving through the tireless education campaigns run by Birdlife Malta and there is every reason to believe that a solution can be found.
For political reasons the governing party in Malta is nervous of alienating the hunting community and has recently struck a deal with the European Union which undermines some of the objectives of the 'Birds Directive'. Despite these factors, the situation on Malta is improving through the tireless education campaigns run by Birdlife Malta and there is every reason to believe that a solution can be found.
There is a deep hunting culture in Malta. For centuries, hunters and trappers have been taking a harvest, for eating, of the many thousands of birds that arrive suddenly on the island twice each year. Not long ago the Roman Catholic Church actively blessed these 'hunts'. Some hunters today still eat Honey Buzzards. Hunters on Malta now shoot for recreation but they see this as a continuation of their inherited culture.
Most Maltese hunters have no sense of custodianship when they shoot migratory birds, because they feel that if they do not shoot a target the next hunter will. So there is no restraint in order to preserve a harvest for the following season. The Hunting and Conservation Federation of Malta has tried to regulate its members but has lost membership as a result. This lack of responsibility has caused the extinction of many resident birds on Malta such that a ban on hunting during migration in Malta now means the same as a total ban.
Powerful guns, cell-phones and power boats have become affordable. Many hunters appear to kill birds of prey simply because they can. In the past, hunting was the preserve of the upper classes but now it is accessible to all. Cell phones have coordinated the demise of many raptors. While the killing of these birds may be centuries old, the scale and the purpose of the killing is only as old as the new technology. The number of registered guns on Malta rose suddenly from the 1960s on. Approximately 600 power boats are used for illegal hunting at sea (Maltese jurisdiction only extends 12km offshore).
There is a 'collector's frenzy' driving much of the killing on Malta. The hunters were adamant that shooting isn’t done for financial gain. But a stuffed Osprey fetches about £450 & a stuffed Eagle Owl (shot in Russia), £750 and these sums can quickly make up for a fine (which vary from £100 to £2000). There are between five and six thousand registered collections of stuffed birds under the rooftops of Malta, which could represent half a million dead raptors. Avid collectors are not satisfied with one Honey Buzzard specimen, they need all the age plumages and colour morphs.
Birds of prey arriving on Malta are more vulnerable to hunters than anywhere else on their annual journeys. It is a small, isolated place, crowded with 360,000 people: 30% of the land area is urban and the remainder intensely farmed. Birds of prey arriving on Malta cannot avoid the hunters by simply moving along. There are only a few small woodlands suited for roosting and hunters wait at all of these. It is almost impossible for a large bird to stop on Malta unnoticed. Malta is a natural trap for all birds.
There is still a serious lack of political will for law enforcement. The Administrative Law Enforcement Unit, set up to counter illegal hunting, has 22 staff including a very determined investigations officer, two vehicles and a boat. But they face 16,000 hunters who, on most parts of the island, are able to outmaneuver them. Although it is soon to be boosted with equipment, the ALE is still likely to experience a lack of determination from government because Malta has two very evenly matched political parties, and the hunters' vote has been able to tip the balance of power.
INGRAINED
IRRESPONSIBLE
NEW TOYS
COMPULSIVE
NO ESCAPE
POWER
