BirdLife 'dictated' trapping dates - FKNK

Philip Sword

Aug 5th 2008, 20:59

Again we see hunters being discriminated against. More and more restrictions being imposed upon one of the most law obiding section of the community. The Maltese Government like that in the UK chooses to base its descisions on the views of a few so called conservationists rather than listen to people who realy know ie the hunters themselves.

Philip Grech

Aug 3rd 2008, 10:16

Have a look at the Sunday Times (03-08-08) find the article about the Mediterraneo Park and tell me what you all whiners think about the soft hearted tourists. The caption under the picture:The Mediterraneo park is very popular with locals and foreigners.

J. Borg

Aug 2nd 2008, 20:54

When making comparisons with other European countries - it should be obvious that we need to take into consideration the density of population and the surface area of the countryside involved.
Hunting may be less of an general issue abroad simply because it is dispersed over a greater area. In fact till now there are no clashes between local rod fishing groups and swimmers - guess yachts and boats are more of an immediate problem!
And then the declarations and actions of some professed hunters do not do their pretentions any favours either.

MARK MIFSUD BONNICI

Aug 2nd 2008, 20:07

All these comments about hunting being a thing of the past, reclaiming our countryside, people being peppered with shot, so on ans so forth. You are all forgetting one thing.

Government is not allowing hunting in the afternoon as a ridiculous precautionary measure to safeguard birds of prey and not YOUR interests.

Stop whining and take up a hobby like hunting or bird trapping. only then will you realize how ridiculous the anti hunting comments are. Compare hunting in Malta to anywhere in Europe. Compare also the scale of illegal hunting elsewhere and you start realizing how pathetic the Maltese anti hunter truly is.

It's high time the Government realizes that such ridiculous measures only add fodder to the anti hunter's fire since in terms of bird protection they achieve absolutely nothing.

laurence schembri

Aug 2nd 2008, 18:05

@ Michael DeBono
Spot on! Just testing, if the sharpnes of ones mind is as good as his shooting.

Anthony Formosa

Aug 2nd 2008, 15:40

The governemnt proved that he will continue to discriminate the hunters. Honestly speaking I was expecting the government to be more tolerant on this issue after the spring suspension; all I know is that these measures are sending a wrong message to those who always respected the law.
@ Dion Borg, I think you're the only person who spoke honestly, all others are hiding behind the excuse of slauthering of birds for the sake of the scarce countryside. May I just remind you all, that hunting is practiced mainly everywhere around the globe, and Malta is no exception, tourists must also respect our properties when they visit us, no one should promote Malta that offers country walks and then they'll be disappointed when they see that the country is mainly privately owned, we have enough bird sanctuaries managed by Birdlife where they can visit. Beside that I can't imagine which tourists wish to make the country walks in August / September wearing shorts and sandals. Please leave the tourism out of this as birdlife already failed on it, the tourist increased drastically irrespective of the spring hunting issue.

Jason Borg

Aug 2nd 2008, 14:41

Come on FKNk - the government has done you a big favour in limiting the hunting season and phasing out the trapping season: you now have more time in your hands to give us more of those hilarious stories about BirdLife infiltrating the EU Commission, hunters not being responsible for the killing of protecting species of birds, birds being unable to nest locally because of the summer heat etc etc. Keep them rolling, boys. You are really brightening our lives.

A.Gauci Cunningham

Aug 2nd 2008, 13:18

I think all of you here who are neither hunters nor Birdlife members should just give up posting the usual comments becuase these two "groups" (especially the FKNK) have absolutely no intention of budging an inch. Their "want it now and want it all" attitude has now become nauseatingly depressing...........Its always the same old story over and over again!!!!!!!!!! And why?? Because of a flippin "hobby"!!!!!!!!!...............this issue is now over its sell by date and the only people who still feel fervour for it are those who read "il-Passa" or "il-Pitiross" (or whatever Birdlife's mag is called!!)............

PL Buttigieg

Aug 2nd 2008, 12:51

It continually amazes me how devoid of reason the FKNK spokespeople make themselves appear. The illegal hunting 'excuse' is hardly likely to become invalid as long as the FKNK's ranks are thick with thugs who conveniently resign from civilisation whenever they feel the urge to kill something.

I'm sure the majority of Maltese citizens (remember FKNK, you're part of a society that extends beyond your clubhouses) would appreciate being able to enjoy their countryside while those threatening them with artillery are hopefully doing something more constructive - planting trees perhaps? Is opening up our natural heritage (which many adults and children barely have a chance to experience) a vindictive policy? Perhaps this will help more citizens develop a greater sense of environmental awareness and responsibility and our litter-choked country will stand a chance!

Face it - 'socio-cultural passions' have to change with time. One cannot divorce reality and ignore habitat destruction and the swathe of other factors which make these practices unsustainable and potentially catastrophic to the environment we are responsible for (need I provide a Bible?). Would the FKNK please produce some sort of credible research (ha!) to the contrary?

Andrew Gatt

Aug 2nd 2008, 12:48

@ Ray Gatt...I repeat, hunting is LEGAL. Poaching is not. My bag is for the table, the same as the ham, bacon, beef, eggs, fish etc. that you no doubt eat every day, without a thought about the conditions these animals are reared in or the artificial feeds, vitamins and medication they're fed. And please, spare me the emotions. I hunt. You don't. So what? As long as I respect the laws (which I do FULLY), what right do YOU have to tell me what to do?

"Slaughter, trespassing, reclaiming the countryside, peppered with shot, PS2, too long a season bla bla bla bla - comments like these from people like these simply show the intolerance, the hatred, the bias, the brainwashing and the misinformation that is today's reality. Not content with attempting to ban Spring Hunting, not content with shortened seasons, not content with more restrictions year after year, not content with allowing foreign organisations free rein to police fellow Maltese...................just admit it! You ALL SIMPLY WANT ALL HUNTING STOPPED and you use any excuse and argument - most of which are too banal to bother commenting on.

Michael DeBono

Aug 2nd 2008, 12:46

Everybody can notice what a hot issue this is. Every time there is an article re hunting, there it goes, all of us readers commenting. Not even an issue such as illegal immigration will instigate so many arguments and discussion and instant hatred replies.
Why all this fuss? Let the hunters enjoy their loved hobby, and let non-hunters enjoy their hobbies too. Hunting has been practised for so long, it's impossible to abolish. Why do we always try and argument about something here in Malta? I guess if there were no laws or if birdlife doesn't magnify this so much, many hunters will stay at home at their own choice, as, let's face it, there's nothing to shoot at.

Re @ R.Buttigieg...Clay pigeon shooting does not have anything to do with hunting. It's just for people who enjoy using their gun. There is no thrill. The participant has his firearm pointed, he knows where the target is coming from, and when.

Re @ Laurence Schembri..if I'm not mistaken...it's 5 months... of which September, December, and January, nothing will be flying by.

Re @ I. Borg, please don't post such blatant comments...if you're not trying to ridicule the argument.

joe borg

Aug 2nd 2008, 12:45

As if the hunters will abide by the dates and time of the day, who are you kidding FKNK? The maltese are not imzazen anymore, no one beleive you anymore. Go around Malta on sundays afternoon and you will get a shower of pellets even if you are on public roads. And what about the high platforms concealed in the country side where the hunters shoot the birds off. Yes these are illegal there are in Wied il- Qoton Birzebbuga, in the wied of Bahrija and in Gozo near San Dimitri and there are still there no one removed them.

R. Buttigieg

Aug 2nd 2008, 12:37

@ Andrew Gatt.

First of all, if you are going to quote me...quote correctly.

Secondly. Yes i continue stating that the FKNK are acting just the same as the taxi driver / bus driver incidents last week. We don't need to see any more hunters in our countryside.

Malta is in need of a clean environment with healthy surroundings and birds.

If you think that FKNK will continue intimidating the public by stating that they are "trespassing" the land, and them by being squatters of land, WE JUST DONT NEED THEM HERE ANY LONGER.

This is no political issue. It is an environmentalist issue that has to be sorted out with the help of all the non-hunting Maltese.

WE NEED TO BAN HUNTING AND REMOVE WEAPON LICENCES

Paul Barrett

Aug 2nd 2008, 12:08

@ Andrew Gatt.
I did not mention in my earlier comment if I was for or against hunting and nor did I mention anything about it being legal or illegal either in Malta or any other EU country.
I personally gave up professional hunting after many years some time ago. In my youth I found it both exciting and terrifying. The latter was mainly because my pray had this nasty habit of shooting back.
I have no problem with people with the need to hunt for food though it is easier, probably cheaper, far less time wasting and much safer to buy it from the shops.

J. Farrugia

Aug 2nd 2008, 11:51

@Ray Gatt: you have a right to view beautiful birds flying. And you are right! I have a right to practice my hobby without hindrance and even enjoying trapped birds in my cages. And I am also right. Who is going to decide which one of us will over-ride the other? The EU? the Government? You? Me? the collectivity? We both have our rights. And we both are right in our decisions. Who is going to decide who of us is on the wrong side? Someone surely is. Or are we both right and we have to live together, like people in condominiums do?

Ray Gatt

Aug 2nd 2008, 11:16

Andrew Gatt - what's so law abiding about shooting a living thing out of the sky. Why do you hunters have so much thirst for blood. Don't I have the same right as you to watch a bird peacefully flying across our skies. Is it not pathetic that during hunting season I can't enjoy the little bit of countryside we still own because I could get spray with lead or get told off for trespassing on land which belongs to me after all. Why don't you all get a live a do something decent for a passtime. How small are you to insinuate that the opposite of birdmurdering is drugs. FKNK - I believe the last K stands for Konservazzjonisti. What exactly are you conserving. Definitely not the birds. Oh yes I forgot you're stuffing them and putting them in a trophy cabinet. I'd rather watch it fly and that is my right. It is not your right to kill. Life is there to conserve Messrs. KONSERVAZZJONISTI.

C.Camenzuli

Aug 2nd 2008, 11:04

On this issue FKNK has been attacking the Nationalist Government for ages. Watching their amateurish, biased full of mud slinging programme on Smash TV increases my anti-hunting attitude irrespective of the more adeguate concession issued few hours ago.
One point they need to clear however....what is the MLP position on the issue. Are they in favour of increasing more bird slaughtering hours per day / per month / per season. Perhaps the pro-hunting MLP spokesperson may brief us.

MARK MIFSUD BONNICI

Aug 2nd 2008, 11:04

ANOTHER SIGN OF GOVERNMENT'S INCOMPETENCE.

"However, in order to protect bird of prey, between September 15 and September 30 hunting from land will not be allowed between 3p.m. and two hours before dusk."

Rather than enforcing regulations and using fines as a deterrent government has decided to disallow hunting during the last 2 weeks of September.

For hunters, Summer time literally means no hunting in the mornings. Since most are at work less than an hour after sunrise. Hunting in the afternoon is their only option.

If indeed the protection of birds of prey is the reason behind this farce, Government might realize that this is not a solution. Hunting laws stipulate a maximum fine of 2 years imprisonment and a fine of 14,000 euro. This deterrent has never been utilized. Instead Government opts for the easy way out. Namely NO HUNTING.

Notwithstanding numerous suggestion from the hunting federations, amongst which the setting up of an environment warden unit paid for from hunting license fees. The Government persists upon pleasing and heeding the advice of abolitionists - BIRDLIFE AND FRIENDS.

C Mallia

Aug 2nd 2008, 10:44

...and the FKNK farce continues...

PART 1

The Yelkouan Shearwater project is a sham, which means the EU Commission is a sham as this project is monitored by the Commission. The Commission though has a different perspective:

http://www.birdlifemalta.org/photos/otherfiles/439.pdf
and
http://www.birdlifemalta.org/photos/otherfiles/440.pdf

PART 2

Lino Farrugia, FKNK Secretary, wants us to believe that in Malta, birds cannot breed. Then, of all birds, he chooses the Peregrine Falcon as an example. This bird is well known to breed from top of cathedrals in central european cities.

PART 3

Birdlife Malta has the power to dictate to Government.......wow!

..and all this in the space of three weeks.

Dion Borg

Aug 2nd 2008, 10:25

Interesting….let’s see who is dictating to who…
The countryside is again being taken over by a few hundred sweet chaps, so that they can have that so called thrill of shooting birds dead.
Now, just how much MTA is investing to attract tourists during Autumn?
How many quality tourists are likely to visit Malta in Autumn rather than the hot summer months?
Why are hunters practically assigned all the countryside – whilst the rest of the population have just between 4 - 5 hours a week when they can peacefully (albeit cramped) enjoy the countryside?
Why haven’t Sundays (all day) and Saturdays afternoon been rid of hunting?
Why aren’t students allowed to enjoy hikes in September and over weekends, without being warned off their tracks?
Can someone stop dictating, and simply quantify the monetary and ulterior cost of hunting….i.e. the cost of this perverted thrill that hunters egoistically continue to seek so senselessly? Is it such a big sacrifice to relax in the countryside without a shotgun?
The cost of hunting (the thrill to shoot birds) is simply unsustainable and illogical.

laurence schembri

Aug 2nd 2008, 10:17

Six months of slaughter...isn`t that enough?

I Borg

Aug 2nd 2008, 09:44

Dear FKNK, if I were you I d suggest to all hunters to start shooting on PS3, XBOX 360 or Wii consoles, to mention them all. Its really shooting but in a virtual world - you can choose any type of bird to shoot at - no restrictions - 24hrs a day with unlimited ammo.

Andrew Gatt

Aug 2nd 2008, 09:42

@ Paul Barrett.......hunting is LEGAL and practised within ALL EU states. Please don't give us that drivel. @ R. Buttigieg.....using your same outdated "shoot clays" Please direct your gripes and whinges to the Government and the people responsible for law and order. Perhaps they can explain their failure to control a minority of trigger-happy poachers on a tiny little island. Instead of allocating proper resources, they simply continue to impose collective punishment on the absolute majority of law-abiding hunters. Problem is that Birdlife and Govt. are very comfortably in bed with each other. Oh, and may I remind everyone that these are LOCAL REGULATIONS which have NOTHING to do with Europe.

Andrew Borg-Cardona

Aug 2nd 2008, 09:37

Stop whining and try to get some credibility - though I suspect that it's way too late for that.

Franco Farrugia

Aug 2nd 2008, 09:24

Who will swallow this?
Why all these attacks on Birdlife Malta???

J.Fiorentino

Aug 2nd 2008, 09:00

When I heard the news I felt that as a Maltese citizen the Nationalist Government was acting against me by STILL allowing such a LONG season for hunting and bird trapping!

R. Buttigieg

Aug 2nd 2008, 08:40

@ FKNK

If I were you, I would swallow it and stop trying to get they sympathy of the Maltese. I have heard hunters down in Kalkara during the "Spring Season", even though it was closed. For you guys it is like "Bone, Thugs and Harmony", The bone being some hunters acting like the pirates of the sky, stealing every life you spot. Thugs, being at least some hunters who go hunting illegally, and the Harmony is that of no birds in the sky...cause hunters are killing everything you see. It is like having a graveyard, instead of a beautiful sky.

When I was a kid, I remember loads of birds coming over from Europe on their transition to Africa and vice versa...what happened to these now???

Well with the protests the FKNK had done over the years, the government gave in and gave you guys the rights to hunt

I would remove all the permits for fire arms and penalize severely those who go hunting illegally. Why hunt on live birds when you have clay pigeons you could use.

Paul Barrett

Aug 2nd 2008, 08:33

I would have thought that if Bird Life (Malta) had dictated to the Government the hunting season, there would not be a hunting season