World Wildlife Day: Wild Birds Regulation Unit reopens applications for new General Trapping Licences
Momentum reaffirms its opposition to the Government’s decision, announced through the Wild Birds Regulation Unit, to reopen applications for new General Trapping Licences. Ironically, this move comes in the same week the world marks World Wildlife Day.
This decision directly contradicts Malta’s commitments upon joining the European Union in 2004. Malta’s accession commitments included the phasing out of finch trapping, also voted upon in the 2003 referendum. The practice was meant to decline, not be revived and expanded.
The Government’s move also disregards repeated judgments by the European Court of Justice, which ruled in 2018 that Malta’s recreational finch trapping derogation was illegal and, in 2024, again ruled against the scientific research framework that replaced it.
Katya Compagno, executive member of Momentum, said, “Malta lies on one of the most important migratory routes between Europe and Africa. The birds trapped locally are not a private resource. They are part of a shared European natural heritage. This decision is particularly reckless at a time when environmental enforcement remains weak. Expanding licences without ensuring effective monitoring risks normalising illegality and abuse. It sends the message that political convenience outweighs the rule of law.”
In recent weeks, Malta has also witnessed disturbing cases involving captive wild animals, including chimpanzees and a panther reportedly kept in inappropriate conditions. The deafening silence from the authorities reflects the Government’s careless approach to animal welfare. At the same time, an application before the Planning Authority seeks to sanction an illegal lion’s enclosure, originally approved as a sheep pen.
Momentum calls for the immediate withdrawal of the decision to reopen applications for General Trapping Licences and instead urges the Government to:
- Fully comply with EU environmental law and Malta’s accession commitments entered into upon joining the European Union in 2004.
- Strengthen the Environmental Protection Unit across Malta and Gozo with adequate personnel and equipment, such as drones and cameras, and operate on a 24-hour enforcement basis.
- Appoint an Animal Protection Magistrate with exclusive subject matter jurisdiction.
- Protect and restore wild habitats.
- Provide a substantial budget increase for the Animal Welfare Directorate to recruit more inspectors and operate a reliable 24-hour rapid response team.
- Provide specialised training to the Police and LESA in animal welfare and enforcement protocols.
- Introduce a Positive List of species permitted to be kept in Malta, clearly defining which animals are allowed and prohibiting all others by default.
- Establish mandatory, unannounced inspections of zoos, private collections, and wildlife parks.
- Ensure greater transparency in the licensing process for exotic animals, including public access to information on permits and compliance.
- Launch criminal investigations into any exotic animal trade potentially linked to organised crime or money laundering.
Compagno added that “Wildlife is not an electoral bargaining chip. It is a shared responsibility. On World Wildlife Day, we choose to stand for nature, for the rule of law, and for Malta’s future.”
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