BirdLife calls hunters' requests unacceptable

BirdLife Malta yesterday described as "totally unacceptable" the hunters' pre-election requests, which include an amnesty on unregistered weapons.

The organisation said the requests, being made by the hunters' federation to the two major political parties, were a "throwback to the '70s and only served to expose the destructive attitude of the majority of Maltese hunters towards nature".

In a strong statement, BirdLife called on the parties to respect the rights of the public and to seriously consider the safety implications of the "outrageous" requests.

In a document presented to the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party, the Federation for Hunting and Conservation said an amnesty should also be given on the registration of stuffed birds which are prohibited under present regulations.

The document welcomed the MLP's environmental programme which pledges that a future Labour government would not tamper with the regulations on hunting and trapping.

Birdlife said the hunters' requests had confirmed that the hunting fraternity was an "insatiable group of people with no respect for fellow citizens".

"As if the government's 'acquisition' of the continuation of hunting and trapping in spring if Malta joins the EU was not enough, Maltese hunters are requesting more loathsome concessions."

BirdLife feels that the requests only serve as a warning to political parties not to give in to the hunting fraternity and to heed the will of the "majority of the people" who are against bird hunting and trapping.

On the proposal for a 20-day extension of the shooting-at-sea season in March, it said: "This would go against the Berne convention, which is agreed upon by both the MLP and PN."

BirdLife said the request for trapping in February continued to confirm that the hunters' federation was not even interested in allowing finches wintering in Malta to have a chance to migrate back to their breeding grounds.

The federation went further overboard, it added, with its requests to revise the list of huntable species.

"This is a laughable request when one considers that the majority of hunters in Malta continue to shoot at all protected birds in all seasons all over the Maltese islands."

On the request for a management agreement for Mizieb and l-Ahrax, BirdLife said the federation had not even attempted to curb the shooting of protected birds in these areas.

BirdLife said it would allow the public to draw its own conclusions on the request to revise the permissible distances in which shooting is allowed.

"BirdLife has reiterated its reasonable requests for a stop to hunting at sea, a ban on shooting on September afternoons, and a stop to rabbit hunting by shotguns from June 1 to August 30, which would bring back some balance to the current situation.

"BirdLife Malta has also called on the government to commence without further delay the tagging of stuffed bird collections, which has been an outstanding issue since 1996.

"This would effectively curb abuses. BirdLife expects the government to embark on the exercise of blocking all shotguns that are capable of shooting more than three cartridges."

The organisation said the police Administrative Law Enforcement squad still lacked the necessary resources in terms of equipment and personnel to control widespread illegal hunting, and in spite of the hard work being done by the ALE staff, the situation was far from acceptable.