So what we at Alternattiva Demokratika have been saying for years has now materialised.

Lawrence Gonzi signed an agreement with the hunters in 1998; George Vella had already, signed it in 1996, and since 2004 Simon Busuttil has been championing the cause, deluding hunters that they could go on hunting in spring.

Now we have it from the horse's mouth: The European Commission is bringing Malta before the European Court of Justice for allowing the hunting of quail and turtle dove in spring.

When the court case is over, Malta will be fined hundreds of thousands of euros for infringing EU law.

The majority of the Maltese population is against hunting in spring and cannot, and must not be penalised. Any fines that our country incurs must not be paid for by the taxpayer. It is the politicians and hunting associations who have deluded the hunters on spring hunting that have to personally fork out the money for the fines.