Loss of status

I refer to David Xriha's letter entitled Unanswered Questions (April 9).

Mr Xriha is assistant secretary of the FKNK and in his letter he refers to my column Quote Unquote, which I write under the pseudonym I.M. Beck.

For the record, I would like to state that I do not see any point in entering into any debate with representatives of people who have, in the recent past, shown themselves incapable of civilised debate. Mr Xriha and the member of the FKNK to whose defence he came (Carmel Farrugia of Birkirkara) are not necessarily incapable of civilised debate themselves but the wider lobby they represent has lost any such credentials. Lino Farrugia's (I am not aware if he is related to Carmel Farrugia or, indeed, if they are one and the same) recent comments, about how he would not be instructing hunters to abide by the law if spring hunting is suspended or banned, contributed in no small way to this loss of status on the part of the FKNK.

Also for the record, I would point out that my "sharpening of knives" (Mr Xriha's words, whatever they mean) on behalf of my son is simply a reaction to the fact that many correspondents who promote the right to kill birds cite the attack by hunters on my son and his colleagues as the reason why I am opposed to hunting. Mr Xriha and his friends can rest assured that my son, exactly like his colleagues, has taken the incident in his stride and moved on, a long time ago.

Mr Xriha and his friends can also rest assured, however, that their cheap insinuations will continue to provoke reactions from me.