Non-existent enforcement of hunting regulations
Why do we bother to try to control Malta’s hunters? They are uncontrollable. In the past they have always done what they wanted, are still doing exactly as they feel and in all probability will continue to do the same in the future. Only 12 days after...
Why do we bother to try to control Malta’s hunters? They are uncontrollable.
In the past they have always done what they wanted, are still doing exactly as they feel and in all probability will continue to do the same in the future.
Only 12 days after the closure of the hunting season, hunters were still shooting in Bidnija.
During the three-week hunting window I have never seen so much shooting in the part of Bidnija where I live. Every kind of bird which approached the area to drink was either shot down or wounded. Protected birds were not spared.
There was even a variation to this theme. During the spring hunting season protected birds were being shot at in the middle of the night while they were sleeping. Of course, the hunting lobby call this kind of hunting a sport. I call it a disease. And the sooner we find a remedy to it the better it will be for everybody.
One evening, dozens of honey buzzards decided to settle in the olive grove beneath my house. At 2 a.m. many shots were heard and next morning not one bird managed to fly away. They were all killed, taken home, probably stuffed and displayed in a showcase like rare pieces of Fabergé jewellery or Maltese silverware.
Enforcement is non-existent. By the time the police turn up the hunters hide their birds and their guns or move to a new area.
If we want to be serious, then during the hunting season one or two gamekeepers should be stationed permanently day and night in those areas where hunters normally shoot.
I am expecting the European Union to impose a huge fine which could run up to millions of euros. I hope that if this were to happen it will be paid only by the hunters and not by our taxes.
Those workers who live in the countryside are having their sleep disturbed. Sending them to work tired is not a good way to increase productivity.
Why do the authorities try every trick to appease the hunter?
Is being held to ransom by a small minority the way forward and a good example for the rest of us, ordinary, law abiding human beings?