S.L. 549.42 Art. 2Definitions.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

"the Act" means the Environment Protection Act;

"bird" means any species of naturally occurring avifauna in the wild state in the European territory of the Member States of the European Union, with the exception of Greenland;

"bird ringing scheme" means an accredited program or a scientific institution responsible for the training of bird ringers, the management of a bird-ringing database, and the facilitation of data sharing to support research, conservation, and population monitoring efforts;

"bird sanctuaries" means the areas listed in Schedule V;

"captive bred" means a bird which is hatched and bred from legally acquired parental stock in a human-controlled environment and which:

(a) in the case of a European territory bird is fitted with a closed ring or, in exceptional circumstances where the Wild Birds Regulation Unit is satisfied that the physical or behavioural properties of the bird prevent the use of a closed ring, is fitted with a uniquely numbered, unalterable microchip transponder conforming to ISO Standards 11784: 1996 (E) and 11785: 1996 (E);

(b) in the case of a non-European territory bird belonging to any of the species listed in Annex A of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein, is marked in accordance with Article 66 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 865/

*The amendments introduced by Legal Notice 69 of 2016 are subject to the following provision: "16. These regulations shall enter into force immediately upon their publication in the Gazette subject to the following provisos, namely: Provided that the provisions of regulations 2, 11, 12, 13, Schedule IV, Schedule VI, Schedule VIII and Schedule X of the principal regulations shall remain in force in the same manner as prior to being amended by these regulations exclusively in regard to those licensees who would have not handed in their carnet de chasse in accordance with regulation 12(5)(a) of the principal regulations or in regard to those persons who are in any other way in breach of the regulations specified in this proviso and such persons shall still be liable to the punishments stipulated for breaches of these specified regulations as were in force prior to the publication of these amending regulations: Provided further that regulation 2 of these regulations shall also enter into force in the same manner as specified in the proviso above.". 2006 of 4 May 2006 laying down detailed rules concerning the implementation of Council Regulation

(EC) No 338/97, and in accordance with any other applicable requirements pursuant to the Trade in Species of Fauna and Flora Regulations; "closed ring" means a seamless closed leg-ring or leg-band in a continuous circle, without any break or join, which has not been tampered with in any way, which is of an appropriate size for the species concerned and commercially manufactured for that purpose and for the species concerned, and which cannot be removed from the bird when its leg is fully grown after having been applied in the first days of the bird's life:

Provided that when a ring that is larger than the appropriate size for the species concerned cannot be removed due to a swelling on the bird’s leg or any other condition on the bird’s leg that requires medical treatment, such bird shall not be deemed as captive bred; "close season" means, in respect of the hunting and taking of birds, those periods which fall outside the open season during which no taking or hunting shall be allowed;

"the Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Police or his representative;

"general licence" means a permit issued in accordance with these regulations and which satisfies the criteria listed in Schedule IV and, or, other conditions which may be stipulated by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit from time to time in accordance with these regulations;

"hunt" and "hunting" means to hunt or use a fire-arm or any other weapon for hunting, and "hunting at sea" means hunting from seacraft; "import or export" means import and export from and to countries outside the customs territory of the European Community; "inhabited area" means any area in which there is an aggregation of houses that are inhabited or capable of being inhabited by more than one hundred persons;

"lead shot" means projectiles made from lead, bismuth, tungsten or steel, or any other alloy or material, of whatever make and size, contained in a cartridge, excluding the gun powder and wad; "licensee" means a natural person aged 18 years or over who is in possession of a valid licence issued under these regulations; "live-capturing site" or "site" means the area clearly outlined on a site plan which is approved for that purpose by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit and registered with the Commissioner of Police which contains only one (1) live-capturing station per licence;

"live-capturing station" means the footprint area within the live-capturing site containing not more than two pairs of horizontal clap-nets per live-capturing station, with each net having an area not larger than that stipulated in the relevant framework regulations pertaining to live-capturing derogations, which live-capturing station may be registered on one or more licensee and each pair of clap-nets clearly outlined on the approved site plan; "micro-chipped" means hatched and bred from legally acquired parental stock in a human controlled environment and bearing a uniquely numbered, unalterable microchip transponder conforming to ISO Standards 11784: 1996 (E) and 11785: 1996 (E) instead of a closed ring and shall only be used in those cases where the Wild Birds Regulation Unit is satisfied that closed ringing is not an appropriate marking method because of the physical or behavioural properties of the species; "Non-European territory bird" or "Non-European territory birds" means any bird species which, although naturally occurring in the wild state in any territory outside the territory of the Member States of the European Union, does not naturally occur in any territory of the Member States of the European Union; "the Minister" means the minister responsible for the environment; "open season" means, in respect of hunting and taking of birds, those periods as established by the Minister pursuant to regulation (10)6 during which hunting and taking shall be allowed;

"Ornis Committee" means the Committee established under regulation 10;

"organization representing persons knowledgeable in, or working for, the protection of avifauna" means any organization, which is a member of an international organization which has an observer status within the European Union Ornis Committee, and which is enrolled with the Commissioner of Voluntary Organisations under the Voluntary Organisations Act, and that has more than two thousand paid-up members, a statute, a committee which is elected at least once every three years, and which has its accounts verified and certified by a qualified auditor and approved by a general meeting of the organization; "organization representing persons licensed to hunt and, or take" means an organization, which is a member of an international organization which has an observer status within the European Union Ornis Committee, and which is enrolled with the Commissioner of

Voluntary Organisations under the Voluntary Organisations Act, and that has more than two thousand paid-up members, a statute, a committee which is elected at least once every three years, and which has its accounts verified and certified by a qualified auditor and approved by a general meeting of the organization:

Provided that the requirement for membership of an international organisation which has an observer status within the European Union Ornis Committee, and the requirement to have more than two thousand paid-up members shall only apply for an organisation represented on the Ornis Committee established under regulation 10; "organization representing taxidermists" means an organization, which is enrolled with the Commissioner of Voluntary Organisations under the Voluntary Organisations Act, and that has more than eighty

(80) paid up members, a statute and a committee which is elected at least once every three (3) years; "protected area" or "protected areas" means areas where live-capturing is prohibited under the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations; the areas within Natura 2000 sites containing natural habitat types bearing codes 1150, 1210, 1240, 1310, 1410, 1420, 1510, 2110, 2210, 2220, 3140, 3170, 5230, 5330, 5410, 5420, 5430, 6220, 8210, 92A0, 92D0, 9320, 9340, 9540 and 9570 as listed in Schedule I of the Flora, Fauna and Natural Habitats Protection Regulations; and, areas outside Natura 2000 sites that support natural habitats, including Scheduled Level 1 and Level 2 Areas of Ecological Importance and Sites of Scientific Importance, provided that such prohibition shall not apply to cultivated agricultural land located within the boundaries of the above protected areas and officially registered with the Department of Agriculture; provided further that no live-capturing can take place on any site that has either not been registered with the Commissioner of Police prior to the end of December 2012, or that is not identifiable as a live-capturing site on aerial photographs published prior to end of December 2012; provided further that the exemption of registered cultivated agricultural land would not apply to areas where live-capturing is prohibited under these regulations; "scientific bird-ringer" means a person who is licensed by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit to perform scientific bird ringing and geo-tagging activities in accordance with regulation 23; "scientific bird ringing" means a research method based on the individual marking of wild birds with a view to providing data on species’ survival rates, migration, movement and dispersal patterns, population dynamics and ecological processes for conservation purposes, which involves:

(a) the capture and handling of wild birds using nets and/ or pre-recorded bird calls;

(b) the attachment of an individually marked scientific ring on a wild bird to enable individual identification and/or the attachment of a geo-tag to record its precise movements;

(c) the taking of various biometric and morphometric measurements such as size, weight, conditions of feather moult and indications of age and sex of the specimen;

(d) the recording of the scientific ring identification number and biometric information through a special scientific database accessible to scientific bird-ringers and researchers in other regions or countries; and

(e) the immediate release of the birds caught back into the wild after performing the necessary measurements and attachment of scientific rings and/or geo-tags, or after recording the necessary information from bird specimens already fitted with a scientific ring and/or geo-tag;

"to capture" means to take; "to take" and "taking" means live-capturing of wild birds, in accordance with the provisions of these regulations; "Wild Birds Regulation Unit" shall mean the Wild Birds Regulation Unit established within the Ministry responsible for the environment.