Thank you, FKNK

David Borg Cradona (Hunting At Heart, April 29) decided to thank the council of FKNK for continuing to try and keep what's left of their beloved hobby, as he puts it.

I would also like to thank all the council of FKNK. However I would like to thank them for being so incapable of regulating their members so that thanks to the bravado of quite a few members of FKNK, spring hunting has been completely abolished this year.

Quite a while ago I had suggested that FKNK themselves should report any of their members who resort to illegal hunting after Lino Farrigia had declared that there are only a minority of hunters who break the law. I had suggested (tounge in cheek) that it shouldn't be too difficult seeing that there are only a few of them. However, obviously this did not happen. And I say obviously because it is obvious to me, and to any other Maltese national with an IQ slightly higher than the pea-brained hunters who keep on shooting down protected species, that there were too many illegal hunters to report to the police.

To make matters worse, Mr Farrugia was quoted as saying that he wouldn't even tell his members and other hunters not to go hunting even though spring hunting was strictly forbidden this year. All this clearly shows us two things. That FKNT are either not capable of controlling their members, or else as I suspect, they do not want to control them because for most of the latter, illegal hunting is a way of life.

St Hubert's hunters on the other hand seem to be much more civilised in the way they practise their sport and on more than one instance have spoken against hunters who break the law, a fact which gives them much more credibility than their counterparts.

In fact I feel genuinely sorry for honest, law-abiding hunters because I can also understand that it is frustrating to them that they cannot continue their pastime because of the stupid mentality of some of their fellow hunters.

So I think we should really and truly all say a big thank you to FKNK for being so incapable of muzzling their cowboy hunters, that finally one can enjoy the countryside without having one's day truly spoilt by watching birds of all species fall down at your feet, or without fearing that visitors to our island will be boycotting Malta because of the deeds of some of our hunters.