CONSERVATION OF WILD BIRDS (DECLARATION ON A DEROGATION FOR AN AUTUMN 2020 LIVE- CAPTURING SEASON FOR SONG THRUSH AND

CONSERVATION OF WILD BIRDS (DECLARATION ON A

DEROGATION FOR AN AUTUMN 2020 LIVE-CAPTURING

SEASON FOR SONG THRUSH AND GOLDEN PLOVER)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 549.136

CONSERVATION OF WILD BIRDS (DECLARATION

ON A DEROGATION FOR AN AUTUMN 2020 LIVE-

CAPTURING SEASON FOR SONG THRUSH AND

GOLDEN PLOVER) REGULATIONS

25th September, 2020

LEGAL NOTICE 376 of 2020.

(1)

The title of these regulations is Conservation of

Wild Birds (Declaration on a Derogation for an Autumn 2020 Live-

capturing Season for Song Thrush and Golden Plover) Regulations.

(2)

For the purpose of these regulations and within the

meaning of Article 9 of the Birds Directive, given that, in Malta,

Golden Plovers and Song Thrushes neither breed in the wild nor in

captivity, the Minister is hereby ascertaining the absence of another

satisfactory solution for the acquisition of live specimens of these two

(2) species other than by means of live-capturing using clap-nets, in

small numbers, and insofar as it is absolutely necessary to replenish

the limited stock of these live-birds in captivity for use as live-decoys

during open hunting seasons.

(3)

For the purpose of these regulations and within the

meaning of Article 9 of the Birds Directive, the Minister took into

consideration the favourable conservation status of the Golden Plover

and Song Thrush at both the European (‘Stable’ and ‘Moderate

Increase’ respectively) and EU levels (‘Secure’), and also took into

consideration their IUCN classification as ‘Least Concern’ * .

The terms and expressions used in these regulations,

unless the context otherwise requires, shall have the same meaning as

given to them in the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations,

hereinafter referred to as the "the Wild Birds Regulations", and in the

Conservation of Wild Birds (Framework for Allowing a Derogation

Opening an Autumn Live-Capturing Season for Song Thrush and

Golden Plover) Regulations.

*

The July 2020 report on the conservation status of the Golden

Plover (Pluvialis apricaria altifrons) and Song Thrush (Turdus

philomelos), which was presented to the Malta Ornis Committee on 29

July 2020, is available at: https://environment.gov.mt/en/

Document%20Repository/WBRU/2020/otherReports/

consStaJul20GpSt.pdf

CONSERVATION OF WILD BIRDS (DECLARATION ON A

DEROGATION FOR AN AUTUMN 2020 LIVE-CAPTURING

SEASON FOR SONG THRUSH AND GOLDEN PLOVER)

For the purpose of these regulations, the Golden Plover

and Song Thrush are classified as non-breeding passage migrants in

Malta that qualify as huntable species under the Birds Directive (MT

Annex IIB). In this context, the "small numbers" requirement within

the meaning of Article 9(1)(c) of the Birds Directive shall be

understood as "a sample in the order of 1% of the total annual

mortality of the population in question". For the purpose of these

regulations, "population in question" shall be understood, with regard

to these migratory species, as the population of those regions within

the territory of the European Union from which come the main

contingents passing through the region to which the derogation applies

during its period of application, namely Finland and Sweden for the

Golden Plover (Wetlands International, 2009) and Romania, Bulgaria

and Hungary for the Song Thrush (Cramp et al, 1988; Spina &

Volponi, 2008), as detailed in the report on the conservation status of

the these two (2) species, which was presented to and endorsed by the

Malta Ornis Committee in July 2020.

The 1% of the total annual mortality of Malta’s reference

population of Golden Plover and Song Thrush shall be calculated as

follows

Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria altifrons)

Minimum breeding success: 3.64 birds per pair: (203,000

x 3.64) = 738,920

Mortality rate of 1 st year birds: (738,920 x 53.33%) =

394,066

Mortality rate of adults: (406,000 x 27%) = 109,620

Total annual mortality: (394,066 + 109,620) = 503,686

1% of total annual mortality: (503,686 x 1%) = 5,036

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos)

Minimum breeding success: 4 birds per pair: (1,365,000

x 4) = 5,460,000

Mortality rate of 1 st year birds: (5,460,000 x 56%) =

3,057,600

Mortality rate of adults: (2,730,000 x 43.3%) =

1,182,090

Total annual mortality: (3,057,600 + 1,182,090) =

4,239,690

CONSERVATION OF WILD BIRDS (DECLARATION ON A

DEROGATION FOR AN AUTUMN 2020 LIVE-CAPTURING

SEASON FOR SONG THRUSH AND GOLDEN PLOVER)

1% of total annual mortality: (4,239,690 x 1%) = 42,396.

For the purposes of establishing the period for the live-

capturing of wild birds in Autumn under regulations 10(6)(ii) and (iii)

of the Wild Birds Regulations, and for the purpose of these

regulations, the period for the live-capturing of Song Thrush and

Golden Plover for the year 2020, hereinafter referred to as "the

Autumn live-capturing season", shall be on these following dates

live-capturing of Song Thrush between 20 th

(a)

October 2020 and 31 st December 2020, both dates included;

and

live-capturing of Golden Plover between 1 st

(b)

November 2020 and 10 th January 2021, both dates included

Provided that, the provisions of these regulations shall

cease to have effect and no live-capturing activity shall be permitted in

the event that the Minister orders, by notice in the Gazette or any other

notice, that the Autumn live-capturing season shall be terminated

immediately or at a date as specified by the Minister.

For the purposes of these regulations, the Autumn live-

capturing season shall be in accordance with the provisions of the

Conservation of Wild Birds (Framework for Allowing a Derogation

Opening an Autumn Live-Capturing Season for Song Thrush and

Golden Plover) Regulations.

The Autumn live-capturing licence, which shall be

issued upon the payment of a nominal fee of fifty-five euro (€55), shall

set the overall seasonal bag limit for the Autumn live-capturing season

at five-thousand (5,000) for Song Thrush, equivalent to less than zero

point twelve percent (0.12%) of the total annual mortality of the

reference population, and seven hundred (700) for Golden Plover,

equivalent to less than zero point fourteen percent (0.14%) of the total

annual mortality of the reference population, as the total number of

birds which may be captured by means of live-capturing under the

authority of all issued licences taken together.