Constable, elderly man injured in bird trapping incident

Jennifer Soames

Mar 18th 2009, 16:25

@M Attard
Bird trappers ARE in the same bag. They rob us of birdsong during spring just so they can keep trapped birds and hear them singing in their own homes. 72 year-old men should find other hobbies.
@C busuttil
You understand the 72yr old man do you? how come you don't understand he is being an egoist and stealing wildlife from their rightful place in nature - in the wild?
As Mr Zammit Tabona once suggested, bird-hunters and trapeprs should take up knitting.

J. Schembri

Mar 18th 2009, 12:30

@ Fabian Borg : I agree with what you are stating . Bird trapping should end till those who were licensed to trap die. After all they were the ones who voted for the EU ........ or at least a few of them.There were candidates from the FKNK who asked for the number two preference remember?
The LP says it cannot do much in the process , this leaves us with a choice of the best of two evils.

Simon Vella

Mar 18th 2009, 12:21

To all who are cheering up the ALE:
Well done for showing their strength with an old 72 year old man who has been betrayed by the prime minister and the President??? who was this elderly man bothering ?in a field all alone enjoying nature? the ALE should be used to catch the drug dealers and the Barons who are breaking the law on a much larger scale!! Why dont they go take down the boat houses and illegal buildings? I have a right to go on the beaches such as Armier, not when the government was going to take them down, the police and the soldiers were made fools by the occupiers.
THIS GOVERNMENT IS STRONG WITH THE WEEK AND THE MINORITY.BUT TODAY ITS US TOMORROW IT WILL BE YOU!!!!

Bernard J Schranz

Mar 17th 2009, 18:49

Reading some of the comments in defence of the 72 year old makes me wonder 'What if this guy educated himself throughout the last 30 years and learnt to appreciate nature in its freedom? Would this not have been avoided?'

I remember the call against trapping and hunting since I was a child and beyond. So I do not understand those who try to excuse this man's wrongdoing on the pretext that he is being victimised. In much the same reasoning as such people argue, 'What about the lives of the innocent little birds they catch so young? Who's defending these lives'

The fact is that 20 years ago, aged 52, this man had every opportunity to reform himself. Throughout this period he probably flaunted the law numerous times and this time he has been caught.

I believe that the law should actually come down heavy on him particularly at his age when it is not folly he should have practised but maturity and restraint. In some cultures a man of his age is looked upon as a wise and learned person !

C.Busuttil

Mar 17th 2009, 18:27

Vera ma tafux tisthu minn xejn
I am no hunter or bird trapper but I can understand this elderly man.
This 73 yearold has probably had the bird trapping hobby all his life and all of a sudden his lifelong hobby has been cancelled through a decision of the EU. The same institution that shows no regards for our country when it comes to illegal immigrants, but has at heart birds.

All of you who applaud ALE should feel ashamed it would be better if our police forces be deployed in much more constructive manner such as going after drug dealers instead a 73 year old.
As to this hatred towards people from Zejtun, I am from Sliema but on certain occasions I prefer the company of the people of Zejtun than that of certain snubs who think that other Maltese are inferior. It appears they never heard about the French revolution and what happened to those who considered themselves superior. I know people who are against bird trapping not because of their love for nature but because it will destroy a hobby they do not share.

Karl Falzon

Mar 17th 2009, 15:42

What is all this fuss? Are some people cheering that the ALE unit apprehended a 72 year old man? My oh my, you do really get scandilised for nothing, just like primary children! Some people are just to bossy... thinking that they are something more speciall then other's. Look at them, insulting and making fun of other's. Things speak for themselves, there the arrogants.

C. Marsh

Mar 17th 2009, 15:09

@J Farrugia and all those who hate the people of the south especially from Zejtun
I am from Zejtun and I am proud of it. I was never a hunter of a trapper but to use this case to say that people from Zejtun are arrogant etc etc is STUPIDAGNI
I don't know why certain people have so much hatred for the prople of Zejtun. I invite to come over to our lovely people and speak with the population maybe then you would change your mind. And by the way what do you pretend from a 73 year old who has been practicing his passion all his life? Come on why all this hatred

Fabian Borg

Mar 17th 2009, 14:09

contd / 2

So now we are finished with Police ALE running around in the countryside looking and listening carefully to uncover NOW illegal activities which form part of a way of life which is hard for many to understand.

Fabian Borg

Mar 17th 2009, 14:01

contd/ 1

So the un-egoistic Trappers figured.
Who am I to stop Malta from entering the EU if I am being promised that I will continue to Trap song birds maybe with some limitations? I will have fun anyway but with limitations. Also I will give my contribution to Malta`s entry in the EU by putting my mark in the [YES] box and we can all have a ball when the referendum has passed.

So it happened that once the YES won (marginally) things settled down back to normal, apart the short lived chaos between referendum and elections, and trapping continued uneffected.

The transition period was almosty over and March (Spring ) Trapping on song birds was already stopped by GonziPN. The high promises of derogations and studies to allow introduction of a number of wild specimens in local aviaries were broken like they were coming from an unforgiving father to a poor son who saw the light in a lollypop which was never obtained. Too bad that the son in this story is a big chunk of Maltese Society who may not be backed by majority but surely should have a say in today`s world. contd/ 3

Fabian Borg

Mar 17th 2009, 13:51

Cronology or events.
Jan 1993 - PN Government stops Spring Trapping.
Some trappers trap illegally over the next three years and some are caught by ALE.
Oct 1996 - MLP takes power and uphols his promises to re-open Spring trapping season.
Things come almost back to normal for trappers.
Sep 1998 - PN takes power but now they have learnt a lesson. Give trappers what they want and promise you will keep it even after EU Accession.
PN Trappers are fooled by this strategy and blinded by promises of brighter future and millions in EU Funds apart from the fact that they will continue practicing their beloved hobby which , to them, is worth more than millions. The promise at the time involved a transitory period which was needed to
I quote ` obtain data from a study to evaluate the amount of birds needed in captivity to maintain genetic diversity `. So in the minds of intelligent trappers the only limitations which were to come was maybe a quota of maximum birds to be caught but surely not ABOLITION.
..... contd//2

Kevin Zammit

Mar 16th 2009, 22:55

a 72 yea old! I am against trapping and hunting but this truly shows what a useless group of polititians we have. Why has not the government used the derogation time to phase in the ban on trapping? or better still allowed older people say 60+ to while sorting out an agreement with the younger ones. I am sure they would have accomodated some what.

joe caruana

Mar 16th 2009, 21:26

WOW What an achievment for law enforcement; the highly trained ALE catch a seventy-three year old

marco meli

Mar 16th 2009, 20:49

heqq..... after all he was defending what was promised to him by the prime minister, i.e that hunting and trapping was garanteed after acession in the EU!!!!

mario nicholas pace

Mar 16th 2009, 20:11

Well done ALE keep it up . There are lots of other places where illegal trapping is being done like Fawwara, Girgenti and Tal hesri valley area ,all making part of Siggiewi. I even overheard one trapper who stated that his friend had just caught 9 Linnets . I hope that the ALE will intensify its actions against these selfish people who as usual deny us citizens in enjoying nature as it should be ie birds should be always left free to migrate and stop in Malta without being massacred.

D.Galea

Mar 16th 2009, 19:42

@David Mifsud

And says what David? That he will leave the courts practically scott free condoning violence against public officials?

M Attard

Mar 16th 2009, 19:38

@ David Mifsud
"Bit the policeman....".says it all doesn't it?

What do you mean by this? Can you explain yourself better because to me it sounds as though you are putting all trappers in the same 'bag'.....

ALEX CASHA

Mar 16th 2009, 19:37

if i were you,i dont say well done to anybody,its just a very old man infact he s a 72 year old.i think that the ALE should do their job better than running after old men,Ghax ma jmorrux jaqbdu xi drug dealer jew xi pimp mela jigru wara erba ghanzjani il lhum mana u ghada le,fiex wasalna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Antoine Grima

Mar 16th 2009, 19:31

Strange really.Nobody says welldone to ALE when a drug dealer is caught , but a 72 year old ? WOW .I wonder how fast he was running when being chased ? Also , i wonder how many teeth marks would be left after a 72 year bit you ? Malta's problems are over.

laurence schembri

Mar 16th 2009, 19:25

And the Spring Season is not open yet.

Michael DeBono

Mar 16th 2009, 19:17

But come on, let's imagine the scene...
This 72 yr old man has been trapping for 60 yrs. It's his way of life as much as eg. internet, owning a car, eating and drinking is to all of us. Imagine abolishing it completely from his life. Is it fair? Because who said so? Is someone more privileged than another?

If the superpowers (EU and Birdlife) want to abolish/diminish such eternally-loved passions, they should do so at a slow rate, through let's say 20 years, but not immediately. It's painful. It's so cruel! And also, I disagree that they should be abolished completely. They're a way of life, and forever will be. We have been pracitising them for so many years, issa li qed jinqala l-ghawg. Hadd ma jridu dan l-inkwiet.

Let us all live in peace, nobody needs this useless trouble in the society we're living in nowadays.

As the saying goes..."Konna ahjar meta konna aghar!"

j caruana

Mar 16th 2009, 19:12

what do you mean?? it does not mean that becaue this old man bit the policemand, all the people from Zejtun are arrogant...

the argument of people from the south are arrogant.....is old fashioned and very nonsence

G. Zammit

Mar 16th 2009, 19:07

Some police constables are over doing it by searching for hunting material in hunters' homes. Or is it legal to enter a home and search it inside out without an official report?

P.Pulis

Mar 16th 2009, 18:45

This is the second incident where Police officers were bitten. The other incident was about a week ago when it took three Police officers (two man and a woman), to control a woman who objected about a traffic ticket.
Two possible reasons: Either Police officers are too restricted with legal regulations related to abuse of power, or else lack proper training in aggressive control measures.

Andrew Camilleri

Mar 16th 2009, 18:36

@Rabies does not occur in Malta currently. Tetanus is transmitted from soil and dirt, not bites.

J. Borg

Mar 16th 2009, 18:28

Let's hope the Courts of Justice hand down a fitting lesson to these people and all those like them who deem themselves above the law!

Wilfrid Buttigieg

Mar 16th 2009, 18:27

Well done ALE. Malta supports your enforcement. Keep the good work going.

John Borg

Mar 16th 2009, 18:25

This man is wrong both for trapping and especially threatening the police. However just imagine a 72 year old man who most probably has been trapping since his childhood being deprived of his hobby at a time in his life when most probably his hobby is the most enjoyable thing he could do! Actually current legislation mekes him a criminal should he practice his hobby !!!

CCamilleri

Mar 16th 2009, 18:25

to all below:

meskom tisthu x insara fikom.... tihdu gost bid deni ta haddiehor. X'kien qieghed jaghmel hazin miskin ghax qieghed igawdi id delizzju tieghu? hawn erba min nies gennewom.

Hadd wara hadd tasal ta kulhadd.... fikom insara primi hawn erba minkom

joseph abdilla

Mar 16th 2009, 18:22

lock them up, as they do to the birds that they catch. Well done ALE

David Mifsud

Mar 16th 2009, 17:56

"Bit the policeman....".says it all doesn't it?

Herbert Guillaumier

Mar 16th 2009, 17:46

Well done, ALE !!!!!!!