Hunting: the bottom line
My heart bleeds for people like Sylvana Zarb Darmanin and her law-abiding hunting relations (In Defence Of Responsible Hunting, October 5). She makes legislation sound like a take-away operation: you choose to obey the laws that suit you and ignore the...
My heart bleeds for people like Sylvana Zarb Darmanin and her law-abiding hunting relations (In Defence Of Responsible Hunting, October 5). She makes legislation sound like a take-away operation: you choose to obey the laws that suit you and ignore the rest. Now that Malta joined the European Union, for Maltese bird "protection" legislation read Birds Directive. It is immaterial that the government refuses to transpose the EU legislation and adopt it locally. The situation is only temporary and will have to be redressed in line with the Treaty of Rome.
The correspondent's assertion about responsible hunters holds no water. Demanding the retention of an unlawful law such as the current Maltese bird "protection" legislation does not make a hunter responsible.
If these hunters are so law-abiding, they should be ready to accept and abide by the lawful regulations of the EU Birds Directive. A law is a law is a law. A responsible citizen does not choose which laws to obey but obeys the law, period. Bad luck if these regulations are not as palatable as the correspondent's brodu and stuffat.
Apart from being full of inaccuracies, half-truths and spin about European hunting practices, legislation and European Commission statements, Ms Zarb Darmanin's letter betrays straight away the true intent of her complaint.
The truth of the matter is: Spring is not the only hunting season in Malta, but turtle dove and quail can be, and are, legally hunted in autumn.
There was never an agreement during the accession negotiations between the government of Malta and the European Commission to allow hunting in spring, a false statement repeated ad nauseam by all and sundry.
The official situation which people like Ms Zarb Darmanin refuse to acknowledge is that Malta is now a full member of the European Union and must therefore adopt and abide by the laws of the EU, among which is the Birds Directive which prohibits the hunting of turtle dove and quail in spring, whether for traditional purposes or for making brodu and stuffat.