Police probe hunters' site message

The police have been asked to investigate a message posted on the internet forum of the hunters' federation that contained potential threats against Environment Minister George Pullicino and urging hunters to take the law into their own hands.

The message, headed "Yes... let's destroy", posted recently under the pseudonym Springer 2 on the site of the Federation of Conservationist Hunters and Trappers, says:

"We need to wake up and we need to skin our adversaries... Yes, we're prepared to fight with fists of steel, I'm prepared to be arrested... I will kill."

The message, laced with several expletives, asks hunters whether they are going to sit pretty or if they intend to take the law in their hands.

It advises hunters how they "should fight their cause", including by means of vandalism, and suggests that Mr Pullicino should be beaten up.

The message was not on the hunters' federation website yesterday. It was there both on Monday and on Tuesday.

Two replies on the forum to Springer 2's suggestions signal their agreement. Another two advise caution. One tells fellow hunters he can fully understand their frustration but urges them to stop using such harsh words as anybody can access the forum.

A spokesman for the Environment Ministry told The Times the messages on the forum had been forwarded to Police Commissioner John Rizzo for his attention.

"We're taking this seriously, although the minister does receive several threats," the spokesman said.

Last December someone going by the name SharpShooter posted a message titled "We are armed", saying he does not agree with his colleagues' call for moderation.

"In the past we have shown that we are no pushovers. Don't forget, there are many more armed hunters than there are policemen and soldiers! We should take advantage of our power. This is a need, not a whim."

The secretary of the hunters' federation, Lino Farrugia, said they did their best to block such messages from being posted on the site. "I don't understand how this went through," he said.

"We block a lot of messages including threats and provocative comments aimed at hunters."

When asked to react to the message, Mr Farrugia said it was an expression of anger on the part of the individuals. "People are angry, they cannot be treated this way and we intend speaking about this on Thursday," he said.

He was referring to a press conference the federation is expected to hold today dealing with The Future Of Hunting And Trapping In Malta.

When pressed to say whether he saw the comments as problematic, he said: "It's an expression of anger, no I don't see them as being problematic".

He also pointed out that hunters feel abandoned by the government and by members of Parliament.

Having said that, Mr Farrugia added, he did acknowledge that such comments damaged the hunters' cause and the federation condemned them.

"Whenever we find such offensive material we delete it outright. The site is monitored on a part-time basis but we have asked our webmaster to make the site more secure so that only members of the federation would be able to use it," he added.

Whenever such over-the-top comments appear, fellow hunters immediately urge caution, he said.

The hunting issue is once again at the top of the agenda as the future of spring hunting hangs in the balance.

The European Commission started legal proceedings against Malta last July for allowing spring hunting in 2004, its first year of EU accession.

The government said it is ready to challenge the Commission's arguments in the European Court of Justice.

In a recent meeting, the Commission reiterated that spring hunting cannot be permitted any more as the derogation granted by the government under the Birds Directive was not justified.

Last week, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds presented a 115,000-signature petition calling on the government to face up to its illegal bird hunting and trapping "shame" and honour its bird protection commitments.