Ending bird trapping and shooting in Malta

Malta has been instructed to end the trapping of 4 endangered bird species (turtle dove, quail, golden plover and song thrush), in violation of European law. However, that has not happened. Trapping is still proceeding on Malta and Gozo (my parents witnessed it recently) and shooting of migratory songbirds is one of the major causes of recent declines across the EU. The Maltese people recently voted narrowly in favour of retaining a spring hunting period. EU Commissioner for the Environment, Karmenu Vella, is a representative of the Maltese government and supervises the implementation of the EU's environmental laws, including the Birds Directive. This law is not being enforced appropriately by the Maltese Government, as endangered species are being shot and trapped during spring and autumn migrations. This is in contravention of the derogation that Malta has to comply with Article 9 (1).c of the Birds Directive.