Run rabbit run

Wild rabbits may start being shot with airguns and the hunters' federation, FKNK, yesterday issued a code of practice and conduct for this "new practice" in Malta.

In a statement issued yesterday, the FKNK said the police were now receiving applications for this 'sport', even though its secretary Lino Farrugia admitted that wild rabbits were not in abundance in Malta.

It recognised that while hunting wild rabbits with airguns was a popular practice in several countries, such as the UK, FKNK made it clear this will never substitute any form of "traditional, socio-cultural hunting".

The FKNK said a new applicant who wished to hunt wild rabbits, as well as those with a licence for using an airgun just at a target shooting range, had to first join the federation, among other regulations.