After lots of letters on spring hunting and trapping the issue is still very controversial. I myself am a keen bird trapper who finds relaxation not in the quantity of birds captured but in the tranquillity nature can offer.

It is a shame that BirdLife ignores the socio culture implications of decisions taken on hunting and trapping. It is important to educate children about the conservation of birds, but how can you alter the life of a 70-year-old who has been trapping all his life and has no other pastime? To people who do not embrace this pastime it is rubbish, but to those who have the pastime in their veins it's no joke.

To add insult to injury, the government had assured the trappers that their pastime could be continued even after Malta joined the EU. It is a pity that the issue has become political. The government has made U-turns over the promises it made before accession.

I doubt the real reasons for BirdLife's opposition to spring hunting and trapping. Banning spring trapping must result in having the whole countryside full of singing finches. Browsing their site I discovered that from their observations till now only 30 examples of linnets have been observed. With their assumptions about spring trapping I had hoped that the Maltese countryside would be flourishing with finches.

Why not tell the truth about why they want to ban spring hunting and trapping? Common people do not take up binoculars to watch the finches migrate. People get irritated when they walk in the countryside and see trappers in their hides, with a few of them getting sent away when they stray into private property. The truth is that BirdLife and other organisations want to abolish spring hunting and trapping so they would be free to roam around in springtime, and not for the sake of the birds.

Regarding finch populations in Europe, I challenge BirdLife to publish the facts about their populations. Apart from the linnet, which saw a slight decrease in its population, the other finches are still abundant in Europe.

Time will tell what the reaction of hunters and trappers will be after the government failed to keep its promises. The last time the PN messed with the hunters and trappers in 1993 it resulted in its downfall in 1996.

I think that the hunting and trapping lobby do not have enough votes to run a government but it can surely alter a general election result.