Thursday, 2nd October 2008
Towards a sound future for hunting in Malta
In the news item Protected Birds Shot Down In Front Of Birdwatchers - BirdLife (September 19), Birdlife Malta are reported to have "called on the government to double the fines for repeat offenders and suspend the licenses temporarily". In their blind extremism BLM have forgotten that there is already an extremely high penalty for illegal hunting: a €14,000 fine and a two-year prison sentence.
Birdlife Malta use every instance of illegal hunting for publicity and funds. They publicise the shooting of two or three birds of prey with photos of the bloodied birds, thus appealing to people's emotions in order to get at their pockets. They try to give the impression that there is widespread shooting of protected birds, although they know very well that the hunting laws are being observed by the vast majority of the hunters.
BirdLife Malta welcome the policing of the countryside being carried out on the island by foreigners. Indirectly BLM are acknowledging that they have failed to do their work properly and are happy to have these foreigners do it for them.
Besides, the presence of the extremist German abolitionist society CABS in Malta has been interpreted as an indictment of the Maltese government. The Maltese Prime Minister has been made to appear unable to tackle the problem of illegal hunting without the help of these extremists. The Malta police have been reduced to page-boys, with the ALE police being at the beck and call of the CABS members. What a farce! And for what? To catch a few hotheads, mostly untouchables, shooting a few birds of prey passing over Malta, whose shooting year in year out merely demonstrates the powerlessness and/or incompetence of the government and its police force to weed out transgressors.
Some time ago, we presented the Prime Minister with proposals to ensure a respectable future for hunting in Malta. These proposals included the setting up of a Hunting Advisory Unit within the Ministry for the Environment to deal with all issues related to hunting. We also requested the Prime Minister to let us have a secure telephone number for reporting hunting abuses that would guarantee anonymity. We still have not heard from him about our proposals. In the meantime BirdLife Malta and their foreign lackeys keep purposely hotting up the hunting issue. And this is how it will remain as long as the government ignores serious advice and persists in letting these pseudo-ornithologists interfere in hunting matters.
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Comments
Hunters would like to see more comments like yours. Since their bias and complete intolerance towards others only serve to show to the general public the sort of idiotic criticism being directed towards hunters.
Most of the countryside is private property. If you want t do your "utmost to give the countryside back to my kids and their generation." invest in some rural property. since this is what most hunters have done. As for public property hunters have the same right as yourself to enjoy it. So stop bragging and buy yourself some land.
Respect? how do hunters show respect?
maybe by taking over the countryside throughout Autumn and Winter - not to mention their claim on Spring - effectively 'allowing' Joe Public and his family to briefly get a quick glimpse and sniffs of fresh air, just on (overcrowded) Sundays afternoons?
Yes, shame on me, for not doing my utmost to give the countryside back to my kids and their generation.
What is bird hunting according to you. Is it not the hunting of either bred or wild birds. It would be interesting to know where you originate from. I have yet to hear of a country were migratory wild birds are not shot.
Obviously you know nothing about the subject. You write purely because you oppose hunting and consider your pathetic effort of use. Based on your limited knowledge of the subject your comment exposes your ignorance.
As for your suggestion to take up target shooting the majority do and believe me it makes perfect practice for bird hunting. Asking me to substitute it for the real thing is like asking anyone to exchange their wife for an inflatable rubber doll. Forget it!!
Your own words demonstrate the extent of the problem, when you refer to an anonymous hotline for hunters to report abuses. If there are a ‘few hotheads’ and nearly 16,000 righteous hunters, why is anonymity so crucial. It seems the criminals unleashed in the countryside and in possession of firearms are more numerous that FKNK-KSU wishes us to believe.
Now who are really the extremists in this whole thing?
Firstly protected birds are being shot down. Secondly the countryside is practically taken over by hunters so that at best they can eat (for free) a couple of turtle dove/quail, that are actually costing the country a fortune in wasted resources and effort.
You accused BirdLife at getting at people’s pockets - what is BirdLife costing me Joe Public? If I want I can freely join BirdLife and pay a misery of an annual membership – so what? What is of a grave concern is that my taxes are partly financing the Police and Malta Tourism Authority, and my income is partly dependent on foreigners – thus if the ALE is ‘wasted’ on the hunting, and MTA intensifies marketing costs to mitigate the awful image hunting is shedding on Malta, there yes, hunting is getting at our pockets. Hopefully this will not be complemented by a hefty penalty after Malta loses its illogical case at the European Court……(2)
But, in my opinion, the first move should come from the Maltese Government to give us what he promised.
- Yup sure, these guys are just attention seekers... they do it for the.. umm money and fame
"The Maltese Prime Minister has been made to appear unable to tackle the problem of illegal hunting" - Truth if ever i have heard it! - Comon Lonz, get off yer derriere!
"extremists" - yup, taking video of hunters shooting birds they shouldn't is way to extreme - they should extend to them a cup of tea, pray with them and ask them to be nicer to the birds next time, oh, and finish off with a KumBaYa.
Now here is an extremist view - We (the hunters), the minority, want to shoot the birds out of the sky, for the purpose of an adrenaline rush, and dont give a damn if the rest of you (non-hunters), the majority, don't get to see them fly, and live in their natural beauty.
You have to hand it to the hunters to show up Maltese law enforcement as toothless (unless you import fake/legal versions of Extacy in which case you'll be imprisoned while they work out some way to apply a charge that will stick.
Mickey Mouse - come home!
I know for a fact that protected birds are shot down in error even by the most honest, law abiding hunters of the utmost integrity.
Hunting is like war; there is always collateral damage.
I have turtle doves and quail living on my property all year round and I cannot for the life of me imagine what possible sport is had by shooting a quail or a turtledove.
I shoot them all the time with my camera from a distance of a few metres. If I shot one using a shotgun, there'd be nothing left.