Not Enough Is Being Done To Protect Endangered Gamiema, Warn BirdLife Malta
Malta’s government is not doing enough to safeguard the endangered European turtle dove, known as gamiema in Maltese, BirdLife Malta said today.
They stressed the proposed hunting bag limit of 500 turtle-doves in the month of September is a farce, and directly ignores the warning that the European Turtle-dove is seriously endangered.
“The government’s refusal to control hunting of the turtle-dove – despite the EU-wide push by the European Commission to help the recovery of this declining species – reveals a cosmetic approach to environmental protection,” said BirdLife.
BirdLife explained that in the past five years, between 2016 to 2020, “the total amount of turtle doves declared shot and killed by hunters was 809, an average of 162 birds shot per year”.
“Allowing 500 turtle doves to be shot is actually three times more than the
average of the last five years, based on the declared amounts by Maltese hunters
themselves.”
During the meeting, the ORNIS Committee voted in favour of the new turtle-dove quota and only BirdLife Malta opposed it while stating that “there should not be any turtle-dove hunting due to its vulnerable status”.
“The present administration, through the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU), is once again willing to appease the hunting lobby and will make no changes to bad practices. The gamiema can no longer be a huntable species,” stated BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana.
Kaċċaturi San Ubertu, a local NGO for Maltese hunters, does not agree with the given proposal, and has described the steps taken by the European Commission as “arrogant”.
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