We refer to the letter by Andrè Raine (January 21), whose comments are typical of BirdLife Malta's (BLM) hardliners.

Both FKNK and KSU have often condemned the illegal taking of protected wild birds.

But equally we condemn the manipulation of such illegalities by BLM, whose real intentions were uncovered yet again when they immediately shot down the hunters' practical proposal aimed at curbing such illegalities.

Dr Raine seems confused about how the marshal system will work, wrongly stating that marshals will be reporting to the FKNK and not the police, and ignoring that the scheme is open to any European citizen and not just hunters and trappers. Why do BirdLife members and sympathisers not apply to act as marshals? The call for applications is still open.

Dr Raine mentioned that the Attorney General's (AG) counsel was sought regarding the self-regulation scheme, also proposed by the FKNK at Minister George Pullicino's request.

The AG advised the Malta Ornis Committee (MOC) on the legal implications. Subsequently, it was up to the MOC to examine the changes necessary to make the scheme workable. BLM did not propose any amendments to that effect. Was it because they were afraid it would enjoy some success?

We are told that BLM presented a report to the authorities based on the advice of, among others, former-army personnel. No doubt the reference is to David Conlin, the BirdLife member who gives the lie to Dr Raine's statement that "Abolishing hunting in Malta is not on BirdLife's agenda".

Mr Conlin had written to Environment Commissioner Dimas asking him to declare Malta a hunting-free zone. The denial of hunting-ban agendas is contradicted by BLM complaining that the autumn season is too long and asking for a total September ban.

After submitting the report, BirdLife "did not receive any reply from the authorities and none of the proposed actions have been implemented".

Was the report sent to the Malta Ornis Committee, set up to advise the government on hunting/trapping/bird-protection issues?

If not, was it because BLM preferred to bypass the MOC so that the committee's hunters' representatives would be left out of the picture?

In Dr Raine's opinion, Malta stands as the worst offender in Europe. In our opinion, this comparison is both odious and fallacious.

Whereas in the large EU countries remote areas are abundant and most illegalities remain unknown, on Malta there are no remote areas and even one illegal gunshot will be heard.

This explains the over 2,100 so-called "incidents" in 2008 recorded by BLM, the vast majority of which consisted of mere gunshots.

This is the standard BLM tactic used by Dr Raine when he wrote about "gun-wielding poachers" and "eagles".

In actual fact it was just one eagle chased by two hotheads, who rightly ended up in court. Falling lead-shot is generally harmless, and in the case of the "terrified teachers", these should have called the police, not BirdLife.

The point about "the countryside being dotted with illegally built so-called hides on public land" is irrelevant, because it is for the police and Mepa to remove all illegally-built structures.

Dr Raine accuses the authorities of being too reluctant to take strong action against wildlife criminals.

Unfortunately, BLM's fanaticism does not allow them to distinguish between "wildlife crime" and hunting infringements.

The same applies to the statement that Malta has got the "longest bird hunting season in Europe".

The fact is that the British shooting season extends from January 1 until December 31, because in the UK one can still shoot wild birds, referred to as "vermin", outside the game and deer shooting seasons.

The bottom line is that BirdLife Malta must accept the September 2009 decision of the European Court of Justice.

The Maltese Prime Minister is ethically and morally bound by the rules of democratic justice to open a limited spring-hunting season.

BirdLife's international campaign cannot prevent that happening, because there is no appeal from the ECJ decision, and not even a million signatures or more can overturn it.

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