BirdLife Malta (BLM) has strongly condemned the Maltese government’s decision to reopen the trapping season for seven species of finches under the guise of “scientific research.”
During a press conference held in front of Castille on Monday morning, BLM announced it has directly appealed to the EU Commissioner for Environment, urging the immediate suspension of the season and calling on Malta to respect EU law and uphold the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) verdict against finch trapping.
BLM criticized Prime Minister Robert Abela for defying the ECJ’s ruling, accusing him of prioritizing electoral interests over environmental protection and the rule of law. “The Prime Minister is acting as an advocate for trappers rather than upholding EU law, dragging both the Cabinet and Malta’s reputation down with him. His defense of finch trapping is at odds with public opinion, which values the protection of wild birds over this unnecessary practice under the pretext of scientific research,” a BLM spokesperson said.
The new legislation was introduced just one day after the European Commission set a one-month deadline for Malta to explain how it would implement the ECJ’s 19th September ruling. BLM labeled the government’s response as a “copy-and-paste” of past regulations that continue to allow over 3,500 trappers to capture finches for so-called research purposes. According to the organization, true scientific research on bird migration can be conducted using non-invasive methods, rendering the government’s justification for mass trapping both “unfounded and misleading.”
BirdLife Malta also highlighted last year’s abuses of finch trapping regulations, noting that over 51,400 finches were captured and kept in captivity despite claims of supervision. With this year’s expansion to 2,851 permitted trapping sites, an increase of 235 over last year, BLM warned that the scale of the problem is set to worsen.
BLM called for unity among environmental organizations, residents, and politicians, urging them to stand against the government’s actions. The group also invited disillusioned youths and concerned citizens to join in defending Malta’s natural heritage from further exploitation.
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