A committee that makes hunting recommendations to the government has proposed allowing hunters to shoot 500 vulnerable birds this autumn. The government’s Ornis committee met on Wednesday to discuss the opening of a hunting season for protected turtle doves. Made up of conservationists, hunters and regulators, the committee makes recommendations, which the government then decides whether or not to approve and implement. Turtle doves are considered a “near threatened” species across the EU as population numbers have been steadily decreasing since the 1980s. The move follows a European Commission decision to heavily regulate autumn hunting of the vulnerable species by imposing a limitation on the number of birds member states can shoot. Between 2013 and 2016, hunters in Malta declared shooting between 3,000 and 6,000 turtle doves during the autumn season. The figure of declared catches then suddenly dropped to between 100 and 200. The dip in declared shootings came as hunters sought to convince the EU that a negligible number of birds were being shot on the island in autumn. Conservationists have repeatedly raised doubts over the accuracy of hunters’ declaration in recent...