115，000人签名谴责马耳他政府

115，000人签名谴责马耳他政府http://www.birdlife.org/news/pr/2007/01/malta_protest.html马耳他政府允许猎杀鸟类

The handing in of the petition to the Maltese government coincides with an analysis by BirdLife Malta showing that birds from 38 countries, including the UK, have been shot or trapped across the Maltese Islands.

During a press conference, at St. James Cavalier, Mr. Alistair Gammell, Director of International Operations at RSPB, explained the Prime Minister had refused three written requests to meet, leaving no option but for the organisations to deliver their message personally and discuss the annual carnage. Mr. Gammell expressed his surprise at the Prime Minister’s persistent refusal considering his willingness to meet the hunters to discuss their priorities. He said: "Asking Malta to respect EU laws is entirely reasonable."

Joseph Mangion, BirdLife Malta’s President, said: “Fourteen bird species have been recorded in Malta that had been ringed in various parts of the UK. In many of these cases, the birds were found because they had either been shot or trapped – thus highlighting the plight of migratory birds from all over Europe. None of these 14 species are on the list for permitted hunting in Malta, and only two of the species can be lawfully trapped until a transition period expires in 2008 when trapping must end completely.”

Malta is widely regarded as the worst offender against the EU Birds Directive of all the European Union's 27 member countries. While changes in Maltese hunting legislation were a step in the right direction, the Maltese government has continued to allow spring hunting of turtle dove and quail and the spring trapping of finches – both activities in clear breach of European law – since it joined the EU in 2004.

The European Commission opened infringement procedure against Malta in June 2006. Despite pressure from the EU and conservation organisations in Malta and Europe the Maltese government has recently challenged the Commission at a meeting in Brussels and suggested that they would allow spring hunting again in 2007.

A study conducted by BirdLife Malta's conservation manager, Dr. Andre Raine, has looked at those birds which have either been ringed elsewhere and recovered in Malta or those birds ringed in Malta and recovered elsewhere. Although the chances of ringed birds being recovered are infinitesimal, the analysis reveals a catalogue of shame with UK-ringed birds, including cuckoo, goldfinch, spotted redshank, gannet, great skua, short-eared owl recorded in the island's grisly trapping and hunting practices.

最重要的是本地组织牵头

4年前，俺还带着一个马耳他的大叔在北戴河观鸟呢，那人还说马耳他也有自己的野鸟图鉴，呵呵

有啊