Decision shortly

S Vella

Apr 7th 2010, 15:00

@Chris Finch
Stop scaring the people with fines.....that is why Ornis made the suggestions so that a correct derogation will be applied and we do not face any fines.
I hope that Birdlife will stop their lies if the Spring hunting season is opened, and do not blow up minor issues that can make harm to our nation!
Yes I disagree with collective punishment and for you information it is against human rights.
@ Imercieca
If the police witnessed such a massacre, as you said, why is it that no one was arraigned?? I think you are accusing the police of abusing, with your statement!
Yes Ornis did give the PM advise to close the season after that alleged massacre and the PM went by their advise but now that Ornis suggested opening the Spring hunting season with restrictions, those who are antihunting are trying to scare the people with the fines.....after everyone said is going to accept the ECJ verdict!!

G Borg (Rabat Għawdex)

Apr 7th 2010, 09:27

Jekk tafu li bhalissa l-kacca maghluqa x'qed tistennew biex tmorru ghal dawk li qegħdin jisparaw dalghodu tir wara tir gewwa Ghawdex ...tispjegawli? Mid-dar ghax-xoghol (tmien minuti kollox smajt mill-anqas għaxar tiri. (u innutaw li qed nghid mill-anqas biex inkun fuq in-naha tac-certezza)

Dr Gonzi qabel ma jkun hemm infurzar sura la qed tagħmel pjacir lill-kaccatur onest billi tiftah l-istagun (ghax bil-habel li se ttihom se jitghalqu bih) u lanqas lill-ambjentalisti li qed jaraw abbuz kontinwu.

Jien ma nahsibx li l-hekk imsejha poachers huma ftit. Hu x'inhu bhalissa c-cans it-tajjeb biex jinqabdu. Ghax suppost kaccaturi bhalissa mhemmx. Jiġifieri kull tir illegali. Mela bhalissa Dr Gonzi fid-dawl tal-xemx fit-8 u 26 minuta ta' filghodu qed nghidlek ghadni kemm smajt lil min qed jikser il-liġi. Lil min se ncempel li jista' jiehu azzjoni?

Anthony Mizzi

Apr 7th 2010, 08:23

Hopefully the "shortly" will take that little be longer and be communicated after Spring for the benefit of our four feathered visitors : )

Johnny Xerri

Apr 6th 2010, 21:39

@ J Borg,

Removing guns? Designated areas?

Are you to be taken seriously?

1. Hunting Guns are leaglly bought and licenced and cannot be confiscated or summoned up unless used in criminal activity.

2. Just as much as you have a right to your property and public land, so does the hnter have a right to his private land and the public land. Obviously with safety limitations such as the law dictates (ie distance from roads, buildings, beaches, bird sanctuaries....).

@ Chris Finch,

If you don't want to pay fines, I to don't want to pay for aid that BLM recieves from the EU and government or banks (who donate part of their profits to BLM, when I as a share holder could have recieved something extra as a divedent).

But we live in a society in which we collectively pay and collectively gain.

If hunters votes were required in the referendum a derogation or a fine is the price for those votes.

I trust that the PM who is a very capable person vested with political experience and qualified in the legal field is more than capable to apply a correct derogation, without incurring fines

Johnny Xerri

Apr 6th 2010, 21:37

@ All the antis (in particular Annalise Falzon)

1. Judges have been found guilty of curruption. Were the courts dismentled?
2. Policeman have been found guilty of crimes, (even murders). Were the police force dismantled?
3. Firework manufacturers have abused their licences, resulting in fatalities. Were fireworks banned?
4. Sportsman have been found guilty of curruption. Were any teams or sport activities banned?
5. Priests have been found guilty of child abuse. Were all the clergy ever dismenteled?
6. Teachers were caught skiving. Were the schools closed down?
7. Self-employed have been found guilty of undeclaring their income. Were all self-employed persons fined?
8. Some drivers drive very dangerously. Were all cars (except public transport, police and ambulances) banned from the roads?
9. Over 7000 people were fined for smoking ilegally in bars and restuarants? Was tabacco banned?

The list may go on forever, but it should be enough to prove that NEVER WERE THE ACTIONS OF CRIMINALS USED TO JUSTIFY A BAN.

Sylvana Zarb Darmanin

Apr 6th 2010, 20:32

Annalise Falzon, the many law-abiding Maltese hunters are at home waiting for the Maltese Government to open the Spring Hunting Season within the parameters of the law. Your sarcasm is only serving as rubbing salt into the wound! So please, Madam, stick to what is being discussed here! Are these the type of arguments you are capable of presenting?!

Anglu Xerri

Apr 6th 2010, 20:27

What is this I hear that a decision on hunting by the government is shortly. You have to laugh at this. What is all that shooting everyday in the morning is all about then. And what about trapping it must be open also, all you have to do is go for a walk in the country side and you see trapping. Common government wake up and put an end to this Spring hunting and trapping Farce.

r sammut

Apr 6th 2010, 19:46

What season is ever closed for poachers? Comments of antis should be directed at them, the irresponsible individuals. Why should these sporadic incidents hinder all other law abiding hunters the opening of any season? Would it cross anybody mind to stop marketing alcohol because some drunkards stir up brawls?

Sandro Attard

Apr 6th 2010, 18:42

I fail to understand why dosen't the Gov have the guts to come up with a decent hunting period so that everyone ( Hunters, Environmentalists, Journalists, birdlife.....) can live with eachother.... let's face it, everyone knows that Maltese hunters do not pose a threat to any bird species and that we have been wasting far too much time and resources to this issue !!

Josephine Debono

Apr 6th 2010, 18:32

I'm always bemused by BirdLife and their fellow-travellers in the media telling us what they so glaringly failed to tell us before the 2003 Referendum and General Election.
If it's true that there can be no Spring hunting in the EU, why didn't they tell us before we voted in 2003?
Opening the Spring hunting season now is obligatory on the government for three simple reasons:
it's what the government has been promising since 2003;
it's what the European Court of Justice has approved, and
it's what BirdLife and its fellow-travellers confirmed by their silence in 2003.

Annalise Falzon

Apr 6th 2010, 18:14

Oh so formally speaking the season is still closed at the moment?? Are we sure?
Funny as it seems fire has already been opened and the victims are already being encountered, protected or not, dead or alive, in the countryside.

E. Azzopardi

Apr 6th 2010, 17:46

We have to be extremely careful and I and the majority hope that if this is opened we abide by the laws of the EU. Fines are UNACCEPTABLE. It is not a case of "lets us open spring hunting and then we'll see" like this was stupidly suggested.

Henry Fenech Azzopardi

Apr 6th 2010, 17:42

It is good to note that ORNIS has no sa to open/close a hunting season. It can only file recomendations, based on available facts.. The final decision is with the government to accept or refuse any recommendations by ORNIS. In otherwords the ORNIS never opens or closes a hunting season.

With reference to the Spring Season, Ornis discussed the issue and recommendations were made to the government for considering the opening of the season.

Illegal activity does not come into this particular issue and many are those that mix the two together to come to their own agenda.

The government has to weigh the recommendations within the context of:
1. The Bird's directive.
2. The judgement by the European Court of Justice.

This is the whole issue why it is taking too long to conclude. The opening of the Spring Season is very straight forward. The applying of the derogation at the end of the year is a formality, but the European Commission will not throw in the towel. With the help of
Birdlife International Malta may have to defend another court case.

Lets defend our rights becuase today it is hutning tomorrow could be abortion or divorce.

Sylvana Zarb Darmanin

Apr 6th 2010, 17:20

Mr MMB, very well put. The sentence you quoted struck me the moment I read the report. Actually I was looking to see whether it was a BLM quote, which it was not.

G Pisani, Chris Finch and others, we pay through our taxes for various expenses which we are not directly related to, eg. allowances to single mothers, keeping criminals in prisons, etc. Above all, the Government is expected to apply the derogation in a right way resulting in no fines being imposed.

Jasmine Borg, your arguments are all jumbled up, one does not follow the other. Are you expecting law-abiding hunters not to use their privately owned and legally purchased land?! "any shots outside such boundaries will stark out"??!! It is closed season now and yet we have read about a poacher. Finally, what right do you think you have over law-abiding hunters' shotguns?! In which democracy does a Government hold any right over expensive, personally owned possessions?!

Dr Gonzi, hunters, their families and many others are waiting to see you implement the law and allowing the Maltese Hunters to enjoy their Spring Hunting Season.

John Matthews

Apr 6th 2010, 17:17

@ J Borg
You must live in cuckoo land if you believe that firearms/shotguns be banned from public ownership that the crime rate/incident s will decrease. The UK government tried that after the Dunblane tragedy. Has gun crime decreased? NO IT HAS INCREASED. This is a fact which is easily proved by looking at UK GOVERNMENT statistics since the banning of firearms. Don't try to put unproven facts/suggestions into your governments mind as has BLM. Hope you like the bit about "cuckoo" land, after all it is a bird (which lays its eggs in other birds nests).

Antoine Grima

Apr 6th 2010, 16:55

Some of the people writing here are really funny . Well , they are trying to be .The usual story of lies , exagerations and more lies . If all this was true , i very much doubt that this hunting issue would have gone on so far . If it's true that it is not allowed , the ECJ would have turned round and said NO . But as every body knows id did not did it ? As regards poaching , that has nothing to do with me , or hunting . Like everything else in life , catch the guilty and punish them . If the law breakers escape the police , there will be the Marshalls and genuine hunters like myself to stop them . Come on Mr Gonzi , keep to your word , and this time round you will see the difference .

mario nicholas pace

Apr 6th 2010, 16:06

I have noted that many hunters are spending lots of money in stationeries, they are buying many notebooks and pens so that they can mark exactly the ammount of birds they will shoot if the spring seoson is allowed to open. Come on Ornis, is it possible that you think that these hunters will abide by these regulations?

lmercieca

Apr 6th 2010, 16:04

@ S Vella

Never did the Ornis comittee suggest to close the season. The honey buzzard massacre you mention was witnessed by police and based on this the season was closed.... inform yourself better about true facts before posting such untrue comment.

simon cutajar

Apr 6th 2010, 15:47

..............................and more to laugh ,laugh, laugh and more laugh . Go ahaed Wenz makes us laugh some more .

Alex Ellul

Apr 6th 2010, 15:31

If the PM decides to open the season for hunting, it must have the proviso that it would be immediately declared closed upon the first confirmed report of a shot protected bird. But wait a minute, hasn't this event already occurred, more than one occasion? So why open it in the first place? Keep the birds close to our heart, safe, in the name of St. Hubert and St. Francis. The former an ex-hunter who converted to Christianity, the latter the first self-declared Christian animal rights' activist.

Darren Caruana

Apr 6th 2010, 15:18

Chris Finch
Ibdel id diska ftit please!!
If the government opens the season accordingly there will be NO fines and you know that!
and like I answered you twice when you asked me personally to pay the fine.......If you and your best friends STOP lobbying for a fine, there will be NO fine!! Punto e basta.

We all know that deep down inside it is what you really wish for!! A fine, so that YOU will be proved right, Whereas what hunters really want is to have what they were promised all along, hunt for turtle doves and quail and NO fine!.

And please don't start about poaching. poaching is a problem that can be contained. Especially if Birdlife Malta one day decide to work hand in hand on the matter. Remember that Birdlife Malta refused to takle part in studies about bird migration and also the Marshalls scheme. All this because they were proposed by FKNK.

Birdlife Malta needs these illegalities, It thrives on them and would not survive without them.

N.Lawrence

Apr 6th 2010, 15:11

The P.M.? Makes a decision? That's a good'un.

lmercieca

Apr 6th 2010, 14:46

@ C Mallia: Dont forget the black winged stilts!

My appeal to Dr Gonzi is not to waste the taxpayers money and safeguard the few birds left for the enjoyment of all.

S Vella

Apr 6th 2010, 13:50

When Ornis gave the PM Gonzi the advice to close the season when there was an alleged masacre on Honey Buzzards...AND NO ONE WAS ARRAIGNED!! the PM took their advice and closed the season there and then. At that time I was at work and was punished while working! Collective punishment!! Democracy LOL, Now Ornis gave the PM Gonzi their suggestions again...but this time because the suggestions are to open the Spring hunting season, the PM acted differently, instead of opening the season he refered the suggestions to the EU when he didnt have to!! COME ON.... GHADKOM MA GBAJTUX TGHADDUNA BIZ-ZMIEN??

Lawrence Fenech

Apr 6th 2010, 12:17

Mhemx ghaggla ghax din ma tidholx fil projet ta' Bieb il-Belt.

C Mallia

Apr 6th 2010, 12:12

Condition of Ornis already breached :

?? Turtle Doves + ?? Quail + 1 Pallid Harrier, shot.

Source: Monday 5th April, Closed season, http://www.birdlifemalta.org

J. Borg

Apr 6th 2010, 10:12

The government has “interpreted” this as an opportunity to explore "very limited hunting, under strict controls".

This can only possibly be achieved if hunting is restricted to a handful of clearly demarcated areas and individual hunters allocated specific time slots on a roaster basis to hunt therein. The number of shots can be controlled by the number of marked cartridges handed out and rangers will be in a better position to control the number of birds shot.

Such rationalisation will make any possession and usage of shotguns beyond the demarcated areas illegal, and inevitably deter any illegal hunting as any shots outside such boundaries will stark out and cannot be excused.

Moreover government would be making the first step towards removing shotguns from our homes, streets and roads – and thus reducing the chances of incidents, criminal acts, and homicides being committed at the spur of the moment.

If government does not have the will to implement such a measure - then the so called "law-abiding" hunters' and hunting in Malta is soon history.

G.Pisani

Apr 6th 2010, 10:11

Fines should be paid by those who have the weapon licenses and from the politicians pockets as it would have been their decision.Why should I pay for the mess these few idiots do, I would gladly pay for road works, education, health but never for this.

I Cassar

Apr 6th 2010, 09:47

Most hunters, and their association, have given proof time and again that they are incapable of enforcing "very limited hunting, under strict controls". Who is going to count the 22,298 turtle doves and 10,837 quails, the Ornis Committee? How? The answer is that the hunters will be asked to do the counting. Now that's a joke!!
Commission sources said that "if Malta decides to apply the derogation it will have until November 2011 to justify it through a detailed report". And then if the report findings are not acceptable to the Commission Malta , that is you and me with our tax money, will be made to pay a number of fines.
No thank you Dr Gonzi!

MARK MIFSUD BONNICI

Apr 6th 2010, 09:42

"Spring hunting is not possible under the Birds Directive"

THIS STATEMENT SHOWS HOW ILL INFORMED OR BLATANTLY BIASED THE REPORTING IN THE TIMES TRULY IS.

The Birds directive under article 9. 1 (c) permits shooting outside the established shooting season "where there is no other satisfactory solution".

This factor has been made crystal clear by the ECJ ruling yet The Times and Birdlife Malta would have us all believe they know better.

STOP SPREADING FALSEHOODS. The least one expects from what is presumably a reputable newspaper is the reporting of true fact.