Almost 88 per cent of respondents to the timesofmalta.com poll think the European Parliament is right in insisting on stopping spring hunting in Malta.

Most comments posted by respondents were overwhelmingly against spring hunting insisting it must stop. Most expressed a sense of disillusionment at the fact that the local authorities have been unable to stop spring hunting and, worse, to control illegal hunting of rare bird species.

"No other country allows hunting during the breeding season. This is why so few birds breed in Malta and why our countryside is impoverished. Let us hear bird songs and not gunshots," a comment read.

Respondents linked the issue to the government's inability and reluctance to ban spring hunting for fear of losing votes. Others said none of the two political parties dared committing itself against spring hunting in their electoral manifesto, even if hunters were a minority.

"Limiting - or, better still, eradicating - hunting may be one of the greatest benefits the country can get out of EU membership. It's about how 12,000 people cannot dictate what over 400,000 want just because they carry guns," a reader said.

"I cannot fathom how the Ministry for Rural Affairs and Environment is sticking its neck out on this issue while shaming our country with EU citizens (and potential tourists) in order to support the illegal practices of a few hunters," one respondent said.

A good number of respondents cited the "unfairness" of shooting birds in migration, describing hunting as "barbaric".

For some, banning spring hunting is not enough unless the law is properly enforced.

A respondent who said he was a hunter and who claimed that not all hunters shot down rare birds or hunted illegally during the closed season, charged that the hunting issue had been blown out of proportion by scare-mongering environmentalists. He said hunting was part of the Maltese socio-cultural tradition and could not be banned completely, even though he called for more control through law enforcement.

"Although I do not agree with hunting as done in Malta, it should not be the European Parliament that dismisses all those who have been practising this sport for some time. Maybe the Maltese government should take the initiative, perhaps by not granting more licences and by providing proper clay shooting ranges," a respondent said.

Another respondent/hunter, who insisted he practised his pastime legally and responsibly, said he took exception to the stand The Times has taken on the hunting issue.

"It seems to me that each violation is promptly and heavily publicised in a biased manner. The paper sensationalises issues related to illegal acts, bad attitudes and handicapped enforcement, carrying surveys which are, at best, questionable," the respondent said.

He insisted that the hunting issue should be given time, even though unlawful hunters should be subject to stiffer penalties.

"Please give the many law abiding hunters a more objective approach," he pleaded.

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