Periodically, the typical ad nauseam rants by Birdlife Malta sprout in our daily tabloids. From the notorious banner in the Malta-Hungary football match, the alleged "millions" taken every hunting season (a claim which was eventually dismissed by their bosom buddies CABS) to the recent call to stop the issuance of rabbit hunting licenses, Birdlife harp on about the fact that the Maltese countryside is occupied by hunters.
Most of our rural areas are privately owned and have hunting leases dating back to our forefathers.
Nobody, however, has or will deny access to the public on publicly owned land despite what all the antis try to make us ingest.
The fact is that the majority of the population does not understand that the countryside was created, and is managed, by people and that without the input of hunters it would be a different and less welcoming place.
There is an assumption that man's input is by definition bad and that conservation requires people not to do things.
This is a very dangerous perception for everyone involved in the countryside for whatever reason.
It is just as challenging for ur so-called "conservation" organisations that are often involved in habitat creation as it is for those involved in shooting, farming and other traditional rural activities.
BLM knows perfectly well that in order to improve the breeding success of some species, especially ground nesting birds, habitat management is essential.
It therefore carries out such management on its reserves but when questions of wildlife or countryside management come into the public domain, we then hear a different story altogether.
They should not fear the truth and face the well-known fact that hunters are one of the greatest contributors to a flourishing biodiversity and to Maltese rural activity.
By continually adding fuel to an already inflamed issue, BLM risk growing opposition to practices that they know are essential to biodiversity and the countryside as a whole.
Sensible people invariably react sensibly to evidence and principle and this is precisely why Birdlife's credibility is diminishing quickly.