S.L. 549.160 Art. 3Determination of reference population and small numbers.

For the purposes of these regulations, the Golden Plover and Song Thrush are classified as non-breeding passage migrants in

Malta that qualify as huntable species under the Birds Directive (MT:

Annex IIB). In this context, the "small numbers" requirement within the meaning of Article 9(1)(c) of the Birds Directive shall be understood as "a sample in the order of 1% of the total annual mortality of the population in question". For the purposes of these regulations, "population in question" shall be understood, with regard to these migratory species, as the population of those regions within the territory of the European Union from which come the main contingents passing through the region to which the derogation applies during its period of application, namely Finland and Sweden in the case of the Golden Plover (Wetlands International, 2009) and Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary in the case of the Song Thrush (Cramp 1988; Spina & Volponi, 2008), as detailed in the report et al, on the conservation status of the these two (2) species which was presented to and endorsed by the Ornis Committee in October 2023**.