The hunters' federation - FKNK categorically denied it had agreed to a ban on autumn hunting after 3 p.m. between September 15 and 30, as claimed by BirdLife Malta on Sunday.

BirdLife claimed that the FKNK provisionally agreed to the afternoon ban during a meeting of the Ornis committee in February 2009. The government announced last Friday that hunting on land would be open between September 1 and January 31 but would be forbidden after 3 p.m. between September 15 and 30.

The FKNK later complained that the government had bowed to unjust demands by BirdLife.

Yesterday, it mocked BirdLife's statement, which said the afternoon ban was necessary because birds of prey needed some respite after arriving in Malta during September, exhausted after long flights from mainland Europe. The federation said if the birds really arrived exhausted, they would not spend hours circling the island trying to find a place to rest.

It reiterated that the September ban was unjust and only penalised bona fide hunters unnecessarily. It also served to undermine the public's trust in the ability of the police to enforce the law against poachers.

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