Call for tougher action over vandalised trees

The authorities faced harsh criticism from all quarters yesterday over failure to take more effective action following the destruction of 104 trees and saplings by vandals in Mellieħa on Monday.

The town's hunting association called on the police to step up their efforts to catch the vandals and urged the local council to do all that was necessary to make sure the act was not repeated.

Condemning the vandalism, the association said it would never take any blame for it: "Hunters and trappers are the pioneers of tree planting and we will never accept any attempt at dirty tactics or unfounded accusations to try and tarnish those not responsible for the act."

The Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association condemned the act, saying it was a threat to the tourism industry, on which most of the Maltese depended for a living.

The association questioned how such an act could go unpunished. "It is inconceivable how in a small country such as ours, an act of such huge dimensions remains unresolved."

It called on the government to take the appropriate measures to safeguard tourism and the quality of life.

The Church's Environment Commission said that whoever committed the vandal act wanted to hurt people, including children, who had contributed to the afforestation project. "This was a sin committed against God and society."

It urged the vandals to repent and make up for the damage caused and referred to statements made by Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II who said that environmental crises were actually moral crises.

Society could not just stop at condemning these acts, the commission said. Although replacing the trees was already a step in the right direction, environmental issues should no longer remain the prerogative of environmental groups.

Environmental group Wirt Għawdex said the vandal act hurt "the whole Maltese nation" and questioned when the authorities would take positive action to catch the vandals.

On Monday, 104 trees and saplings in the Foresta 2000 site in Mellieħa were destroyed by vandals who sawed and uprooted trees which had been planted in October 2007 to replace some of the 3,000 destroyed in a previous act of vandalism.