Malta gives go ahead to shooting of 5,000 endangered turtle doves

Conservationists urge EU to take action against Malta for continuing the spring hunt despite the birds recently being added to 'red list' of species at risk of being wiped out

Hunters in Malta will be permitted to shoot 5,000 turtle doves this spring despite the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently adding the migratory bird to the "red list" of species at risk of being wiped out.

The Maltese government, the only EU member to allow recreational spring hunting, said it was taking "special measures" to minimise the impact of its shoot on the bird's plummeting population, cutting the shooters' allowance from 11,000 birds.