Ornis suggested that the hunting season for quail is to last between 1st April and 10th May, while hunting for turtle-doves is to be permitted between 10th April and 20th May. The government will be scrutinizing the suggestions in the upcoming days.  

Several trappers have questioned why there was no mention of finch trapping during Monday’s meeting mainly because the government and the EU had negotiated that the practice will be allowed to continue until 2008.

Government sources confirmed with The Times of Malta that the spring season for finch trapping will be opened and that the government is merely waiting for the Ornis Committee’s recommendation on the dates.

In turn, further objections to the opening of the spring hunting season continued on Wednesday with  NGOs issuing a joint statement which read "It is unacceptable for the government to open the spring hunting season when the EU made it clear this contravenes the regulations of the Birds Directive and that it is in no way ready to accept such a decision”.

The NGOs include Moviment Graffitti, Animal Rights Malta, Friends of the Earth, World Animal Conscience, SOS Animals, the Saint Francis Foundation, Animal Rights Group, the National Cats Society and Island Sanctuary. The NGOs aren’t alone opposing to the decision.

Earlier during the week Alternattiva Demokratika (AD) and BirdLife Malta also criticized the decision. Additionally, a group of iternet users against hunting prompted an online initiative calling on Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to freeze all European Union (EU) funds to Malta.

The decision has also hailed criticism from foreign shores, with Scottish Member of the European Parliament, Ian Hudghton claiming that permitting hunting for yet another year will negatively affect his homeland’s environment.

"So long as the huntsmen of Malta continue to get their way, Scottish efforts to protect rare species such as the osprey will be thwarted," Ian Hudghton, vice president of the Greens/European Free Alliance Group in the European Parliament, said.

"I can see little economic benefit and absolutely no moral or environmental justification for retaining this traditional pursuit and shall do all I can to put an end to this cruel and environmentally-damaging 'sport'," he said in a statement issued in Brussels on Wednesday.

The Times of Malta reported that Mr Hudghton said he has written to Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas asking him to put all the pressure he can to bring Malta into line with the rest of the EU.