Hunters withdraw from Ornis Committee

The hunters' federation (FKNK) has withdrawn its representation on the Ornis Committee in protest over the government's decision to disallow trapping of two bird species beyond the end of the year .

FKNK public relations officer Joe Perici Calascione said the federation is urging the government to revise its decision.

Describing the Ornis Committeee as a “farce”, Mr Perici Calascione said that the government had, for the seventh consecutive time, ignored the committee’s recommendations. He said this was “a form of dictatorship”.

After seeking advice from the Attorney General, the Ornis Committee had controversially recommended that trapping of golden plover and song thrush be allowed from October 20 to January 10. However, the government rejected this recommendation and instead decided that golden plovers and song thrushes may be trapped between October 20 and December 31 while hunting on land will be permitted from September 1 to January 31, 2009, two hours before sunrise and two hours after sunset from Monday to Saturday and from two hours before sunrise to 1 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays.

Mr Perici Calascione said the new regulations were unjust and abolitionist, adding that this confirmed the government’s attitude towards the Ornis Committee. He also questioned why the government set up the committee if it ignored 80 per cent of its recommendations.

Speaking at a press conference Mr Perici Calascione also warned of “confrontation” with “spies” from Germany and Britain who he claimed are coming to Malta to seek trouble with hunters and trappers on their own land.

He said the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was recruiting volunteers “with confrontational abilities” to come to Malta between October and November to ensure that no hunting and trapping takes place. He warned that FKNK action teams will be in the countryside ensuring that no damage is done, adding that their challenge for confrontation was being accepted.