Birdlife Malta yesterday said it feared there would be a very strong international reaction following the package government had negotiated with EU, which allows bird hunting in the spring.

BirdLife said it had always discouraged mass campaigns or tourist boycotts in protest at the local bird-killing situation, even though it had no control over them. It anticipated there could be pressure, particularly from EU countries where hunting in spring was unacceptable.

In a strongly-worded statement, BirdLife accused the main political parties for not having the courage "to face and control the hunting problem in Malta".

BirdLife said "it was disgusted at the way this problem has been left to grow to such an extent that it is today shaming our country and its people in front of other countries."

Condemning the agreement reached between the government and the EU, BirdLife "categorically denounced" that it was involved in such an agreement.

"It is an insult to our nation's pride that the Maltese government is boasting that Maltese hunters will be the only people in Europe 'privileged' to kill birds during the breeding season," BirdLife said.

It challenged the government to uphold its promise to take law enforcement seriously. "Law infringement will not be solved unless a permanent environmental law enforcement unit is set up, a step that Government has so far refused even to consider," BirdLife said.

Reacting to statements that shooting at sea was a Maltese tradition, BirdLife said such type of shooting was a fad that started in the Eighties "and has since grown out of control. Incidents such as the killing of mute swans at Marsascala last January happen continually off shore and far from the public eye," BirdLife said.

BirdLife said the Malta Labour Party had not shown any environmental commitment in recent years. "It is sad to observe that the very same party which created the 1980 bird protection regulations has long since discarded its environmental initiative in favour of a hunter-appeasement policy," BirdLife said.

It accused the MLP of a total lack of environmental principle saying the party was simply using the present situation to attract the support of disgruntled hunters.

BirdLife challenged the MLP "to clean up its environmental act and embark on a policy of genuine environment protection."

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