Joe Aquilina-St John, Mellieħa.
Shooting turtle doves (1)
We have been regaled by a number of "reasons" as to why hunters should go on killing during the spring season: Tradition; pastime; hobby, etc., as well as the poor dogs pining for the hunt.
The latest wheeze tops it all, thanks to David Borg Cardona of Marsascala (April 22). He tells us the tale of the time he went to Libya and on the way to Tripoli airport witnessed "thousands of turtle doves devouring all the newly planted crops". He goes on to tug at our heart-strings by claiming that the farmers' livelihood is demolished, causing an increase in consumer prices.
He was not lamenting the plight of the Libyan farmers: He was, indirectly, telling us that our farmers face the same hardship, which is why he and his fellow hunters should conserve the turtle doves flying over Malta during the Spring migration by blasting them from the skies.
One will admit that turtle doves can be a nuisance to the farming community (although one has never heard the Maltese farming community pleading - as he said the Egyptians do - with the FKNK to rid them of these pests). However, if the spring season sees hunters killing only pests, there would be no argument. But open the spring season, and every exotic and protected bird flying overhead would become a victim. Many hunters do not respect the law, as we have already seen, even though the spring season remains closed. And as with everything in life, the good have to suffer because of the bad, until the FKNK can regulate its members.
Mr Borg Cardona, in his letter, tells us "let's be sensible". Indeed we should, once the hunters show that they, too, are sensible.
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Fabian Borg
Apr 27th 2008, 23:47
I would invite you to take a walk in the fields tomorrow in places where wheat is about to be harvested. I am doing it in an attempt to flush quails so my dog does not lose touch.
The amount of sparrows eating away the wheat is astounding. Many times where wheat stems are most dry you could flush 50 sparrows at one go.
My late grandfather always said that a sparrow is like a winged mouse and worse as it can reach higher. Unluckily this mouse is protected by law today even though it was never really in danger. I guess we will have to keep on feeding them with our crops.
The real reason with Mr.Borg Cardona`s letter was to enlighten the public that Turtle Doves are not in danger and can be hunted even in spring especially in a game starved island like ours. We saw comments which showed nothing but the complete misinformation the public has on the subject. The fact remains that North African doves may migrate to Europe as much as others may choose to sit in. Other doves coming from sub Saharan and Western Africa would tend to go all the way but some may decide to stop before crossing the Med. Let me uncover another hunters inherited knowledge which I was about to pass on to my son but I will wait for the final case before eluding him.
Doves caught in April with Southerly winds tend to be much smaller than a pigeon however Doves caught in May with Northerly winds are almost always bigger in size than their April counterparts. Now we are speaking of the same race, same colour and interacting birds but still there is different behaviour. The elderly always said that the Doves of May are bigger because they come from a different region of Africa. Others might think that they are just older.
In anycase there is no proof that North African wintering doves do not migrate north in summer so comments to that effect were without a solid base.
John M. Grima
Apr 26th 2008, 16:44
A much more serious concern to me has been the amount of LEAD deposited by guns which has accumulated in fields all over Malta and Gozo. Surly, quite a lot of our food grown in these fields has been contaminated over the years. Think about it.
As for turtle doves, they are the cats' favorite catch. They wait for them around birdbaths and such places where doves are easy prey.
Anton Portelli
Apr 26th 2008, 14:30
Using Mr Aquilina-St John's argument all entertainment establishments, discos and nightclubs should be closed down since every one knows that some night spots are used by drug pushers to sell drugs. Likewise all cars should be banned from our roads because some drivers break the traffic regulations, and drive dangerously. Moreover, Ban all knives from our homes - there have been a couple of murders or attempted murders using these instruments.