With Malta’s autumn hunting season set to open tomorrow, Environment Minister Jose Herrera played down concerns that poaching is on the rise.

“If you compare the number of hunting illegalities in the past few years with what used to happen in the early 90s, you’d realise that things have improved incredibly,” Herrera said. “You have to take a median line, not say that they shot 20 [protected birds] in one year, 30 in another and 60 in another. Maybe this year they’ll shoot less…hopefully.”

Herrera was reacting to warnings by several environmental NGOs, spearheaded by BirdLife Malta, who cited figures from 2013 to warn that this year has already been the deadliest for protected birds in the past five years.

76 protected birds were found killed in 2013, but this dropped to 55 in 2014 and 21 in 2015, before rising to 32 in 2016 and 82 in 2017. In light of these figures, the NGOs have urged the government to postpone the start of the autumn hunting season to mid-October to allow migratory birds of prey to fly over Malta in a closed season.

However, Herrera said the NGOs are effectively calling for an end to autumn hunting, given that a large chunk of legal hunting takes place in the first two weeks of October.

“The way to address this issue isn’t by delaying the opening of the season but by ensuring very strong enforcement,” he said. “In the coming days, [parliamentary secretary for animal rights] Clint Camilleri and I will meet up with the police commissioner and ask him straight out how this enforcement will be carried out. Our resources are limited and the police have to enforce law and order in all aspects, and not just on hunting, but I believe we can minimise infringement if we coordinate our work properly.”

The minister also argued that poachers operate irrespective of whether the hunting season is open or not, noting the recent killing of 18 white storks.

“Even if the season is closed, you can never exclude the possibility of abuse,” he said. “I think Maltese people are generally becoming more cautious and sensitive towards environmental matters, including hunting. However, the majority of Maltese tolerate this tradition, which is ingrained in our folklore and way of life just as village feasts are. I have to be mainstream, to try and balance the different interest of different people. It’s not my job to say whether I’m in favour of hunting or against it, but to strike a balance.”

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]