The opening of the autumn hunting season should be postponed by six weeks to reduce the risk of protected species such as storks being shot down, BirdLife said on Thursday.
The request, which is being endorsed by five other environmental NGOs, was made in a letter to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana told a news conference that the number of reported protected birds shot dead this year could reach the highest number since 2012.
So far, the provisional figure for 2018 had already reached 44, as compared to 27 in the corresponding period last year.
He said such figures were very conservative as there were other cases which either went unreported or the cause of death was difficult to ascertain.
“This is not only unacceptable, but such data flies in the face of the prime minister’s pledge that illegalities will not be tolerated,” Mr Sultana said.
He said BirdLife was therefore requesting a shifting of the autumn hunting season from September 1 to October 15, lasting until the end of January. 

“This is not a form of collective punishment against hunters but the only means to prevent illegalities on species like storks which migrate during September,” he…