Checking hunting abuses

The letter by Joe Aquilina-St John of Mellieħa (April 6) underlines the misplaced thinking over the hunting issue. The correspondent takes a swipe at St Hubert Hunters (KSU) secretary Mark Mifsud Bonnici, and members Fabian Borg and Ray Zammit who are known as "the gentlemen hunters" and considered to be the standard bearers of how all hunting in Malta should be practised. The fact that Mr St John played with his two retrievers in an English park does not make him an authority on hunting dogs. Nor does it give him a right to censure the aforementioned persons if he is unable to appreciate that Maltese hunting dogs are not just retrievers. Since Maltese hunters cannot afford the luxury of several dogs for every hunting purpose, their gundogs have to be all-rounders, in the sense that they also trail, set, point, and flush game-birds.

Mr Mifsud Bonnici is right to state that "hunting has now evolved into a regulated form of relaxation and recreation".

Great strides have been made in controls and penalties for breaches of the hunting regulations. The hunting Federation, although not a regulator, works hand in hand with the police authorities. I am certain that both the Police Commissioner and the FKNK president can vouch for that. Additionally, the FKNK have suggested that those found guilty by the courts of grave hunting offences should have their hunting licences withdrawn for life.

The FKNK will also revoke the membership of any member found guilty by the court of serious hunting contraventions.

Like the Irish beer drinker who advised us to switch from hunting to clay shooting just because his uncle had been a clay shooting champion, Mr St John is barking up the wrong tree.

He wrote "we have seen hunting taking place throughout March, when the season was still closed". Well, what did he do about it? Did he inform the police about the event he witnessed? Did he inform BirdLife Malta?

These lawless "hunters" do not know of Mr St John's existence, still less do they care about the indignation they cause him. But why does Mr St John direct his ire against law-abiding hunters like Messrs Mifsud Bonnici, and Borg, and Dr Zammit? He should know that these gentlemen are just as much against the irresponsible actions of these so-called "hunters" as he is.