Turtle Dove: The Great Malta Wing Survey 2021, from FKNK and Hunter & Co, launching today

In July 2021, the Federation for Hunting & Conservation – Malta (FKNK) announced a partnership with the German Company Hunter & Co., the creators of the App MyHunt / MyFieldsports. Since its founding in 2018 they have grown to be the most popular hunting app in Europe with over 530.000 downloads to date.

Today, the FKNK, in collaboration with Hunter & Co. and the support of FACE (European Federation for Hunting and Conservation), is excited to launch a Wing Survey pilot project of harvested turtle doves during this month of September 2021. Maltese hunters are being requested to download the App  MyHunt/My Fieldsports for Free to participate in this survey by taking a picture of the wing of any turtle dove harvested, uploading it with the relevant data in the App and submitting it to the FKNK as seen in the accompanying video clip.
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Hunter & Co. was in Malta this week, where we had meetings with FKNK Council officials in order to coordinate the project’s launch. This pilot project aims to gain an accurate picture of the migrating turtle-dove population size, age, sex and harvest in Malta, and also carries great relevance in a wider European context. With the Turtle Dove harvest facing restrictions in many countries, a digital tool such as the App of Hunter & Co provides an unprecedented and real-time count of turtle-dove data submitted by users – this data is transmitted to the FKNK in accordance with data protection guidelines - and is essential in advocating for a harvest in Europe.

Hunter & Co, founder and CEO, Lorenz Frey-Hilti said of the project: “This is the first step in a long and productive partnership with our Maltese friends which will help preserve their traditions and culture using digital tools.  We look forward to implementing this project in other countries as well.”

FKNK President, Lucas Micallef said: “This is a great opportunity for Maltese hunters to be proactive and to show that a sustainable harvest is essential. The MyHunt App gives Maltese Hunters a way to submit data to FKNK as well as to manage their other daily hunting activities and to receive information”.

Hunter & Co was founded to digitalize the hunting experience and to provide a platform for the hunting community.  Since their founding, they have reached over 530,000 installs in Europe, have established partnerships with many local, national and international associations and corporations.

The FKNK has been actively representing the interests of Maltese hunters and trappers at home as well in Brussels for almost 50 years.  It is the largest NGO in the Maltese islands with 10.000 adult members.

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