BirdLife claims major win for turtle-doves in Sicily<\/p>\n
The Sicilian Regional Administrative Court has suspended the region’s pre-season hunting period, giving migratory birds a safer passage through Sicily this autumn, BirdLife said.<\/p>\n
The court action, supported by CABS, Green Impact, Federazione Nazionale Pro Natura and LEAL, challenged the decision to bring forward the hunting season, among other concerns due to a lack of sound scientific data on the risks facing migratory species.<\/p>\n
Sicily and Malta are both important stops along the Mediterranean migration route between Europe and Africa.<\/p>\n
If the Italian courts found the killing of the Turtle-dove in autumn unjustified, one can only imagine how much worse it is for spring hunting of this species, when it is about to breed, BirdLife said, a reference to its battle to have spring hunting abolished in Malta.<\/p>\n
“This is a fight that BirdLife Malta has taken to court since 2022, challenging Malta’s spring hunting seasons for Turtle-doves,” BirdLife said. “Birds know no borders – their protection shouldn’t either.”<\/p>\n