In the UK, between 1995 and 2011 (that's just sixteen years), our population of turtle doves declined by 85%, cuckoos by 50%, and swifts by 39%*. These are just a selection of our migratory birds who tragically are meeting their demise at the hands of hunters in the Mediterranean as they fly back to our shores in the spring to breed and raise their young.
Imagine you weigh the same as a two-pound coin. Having traversed the entirety of the Sahara desert from south to north, with just the short flight over the Med to go, bang!, you fall prey to the gun of an illegal hunter - approximately 7,565 times heavier than you - who claims this is his hobby? Instead of attaining your breeding grounds and being able to raise your family in peace, your final destination - after roasting - is between two pieces of bread in a worker's lunchbox.
Malta is the only country in the EU with the audacity to openly (many others do it covertly) renege on its EU accession treaty in which it committed itself to abide by EU laws on bird protection. Under European law, the hunting of wild birds is not permitted during the migration or breeding season. Killing birds before they have chance to reproduce has a devastating effect on numbers, as our opening paragraph illustrates.
In 2009, the European Court of Justice found Malta to be guilty of allowing illegal spring hunting. In blatant disregard for this ruling, and despite repeated warnings, the Maltese government has continued to permit and support the spring hunt every year.
Maltese opponents of the hunt have repeatedly assured us that the majority of Maltese people are against the hunting and are in fact very embarrassed by it. On April 11th, we found out that this is a lie. Maltese people went to the polls to decide whether Spring Hunting should continue or be outlawed once and for all. The majority - albeit a very slim one - voted to keep it. Hunting season started on April 12th, and it is back to business as usual.
It is therefore time for us to act. We are asking that you sign this petition registering your abhorrence of the senseless slaughter of birds in Malta. We are also asking the European Commission to stop stalling on this issue and see that the highest lump sum or penalty payment is swiftly imposed on Malta as outlined in the EU's infringement procedure. You are furthermore personally committing to boycott Malta as a holiday destination until the Spring Hunting is banned.
Please share this and thank you for saving our birds!
*Statistics provided by the RSPB. Photograph of dead turtle dove by Natalino Fenech published in the Guardian.
