S.L. 549.145 Art. 10Special research licence. 8 [S.L.

(1) The land owner and, or tenant shall commit to participate, on a totally voluntary basis, as a data collector in the research study.

(2) For the purpose of these regulations and without prejudice to the activities permitted by virtue of regulation 23 of the Wild Birds Regulations, the capturing and handling of birds from the relevant species for research purposes shall be prohibited except by virtue of a special research licence issued by the Regulatory Body in accordance with these regulations.

(3) The data collector may only make use of the special 549.145 SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ON SEVEN FINCH SPECIES)

research licence during its validity period and in line with any directions issued by the Regulatory Body from time to time.

(4) Special research licences issued under these regulations shall be against the payment of a fee as established by the Regulatory Body and by the Conservation of Wild Birds (Declaration on a Derogation Allowing a Research Period To Obtain Scientific Data on Malta’s Reference Population of Seven Finch Species) Regulations issued for that specific year.

(5) A person, besides being the owner or tenant of the research site, shall only qualify to be considered as a data collector for the purposes of the current scientific research if such person:

(a) is in possession of a valid general live-capturing licence or a valid bird ringing licence issued in terms of the Wild Birds Regulations;

(b) satisfies the conditions listed in Schedule IV to the Wild Birds Regulations, as applicable;

(c) submits a site plan showing the clap-net pair clearly outlined in red ink on a site plan approved by the Regulatory Body;

(d) attends a mandatory course on the research objectives of these regulations, applicable legal provisions and other criteria of relevance and passes an examination prepared for this purpose by the Regulatory Body; and

(e) signs the declaration contained in the application form for a special research licence confirming that he shall read, understand and abide with all the provisions of these regulations and with all the conditions of the special research licence.

(6) A registered research station may be used by one or more special research licence holders during the research period for the relevant species.

(7) An application for a special research licence for the relevant species shall only be submitted during the period specified for this purpose by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit.