Land with potential to become vineyards abused by hunters and trappers

Most people will have noticed that, on the sides of hills in our scenic areas, the fields, particularly at this time of year, are covered by dense clumps of dark green grass with a few isolated eucalyptus trees here and there, and nothing else.

This land is, in most cases, eminently suitable for the cultivation of vine. Quite a lot of grape is imported every year in order to produce wine - a relatively recent development - and the quality of locally produced wine has been improving consistently. As such, should these unproductive lands be turned into vineyards, they would constitute a very valuable boon to our economy, since we would have to import less grapes, and possibly produce, and even export, more and better wine.

That this is not being done - although several have tried to do so unsuccessfully - is due to the fact that the sitting tenants use such areas for hunting and/or bird trapping. On being brought before the relevant tribunal by the landowner for eviction on grounds of non- or mis-use, they defend themselves by claiming that these activities represent farming (they describe the grass as "fodder" which is mostly a lie, since our cows nowadays are fed balanced fodder produced by factories), which they definitely do not.

Not only that, in most cases they also reap substantial sums of money from governmental and EU funds to sustain their assumed livelihood which, in reality, is only an obnoxious hobby.

Although the latter is gradually being weeded out, thank God, they will still keep clinging to the hope of, in some way, delaying this process until kingdom come. Such resistance is aided and abetted, in no small way, in that they seem to be able to count on sympathy from the courts, and so continue to wallow in the enjoyment of their cruel sports to the detriment of the possible improvement of the national economy.

Fortunately, one wise and brave judge, sitting on an appeal in one such case in Gozo, saw through their little game, and boldly decreed that such would-be farmers - actually bird killers, embalmers or jailers - are not using the land but abusing it, and as such should be thrown out of it without further ado.

May his example shine brightly to guide the rest of us out of this medieval mess.