Hunting may be legal, but it is still morally wrong

It is the easiest of tasks to dismantle hunters’ arguments since huntsmen may be doing a better job at shooting birds than shooting down my reasoning, and because this wicked ­obsession has no place in modern society.

Mark Mifsud Bonnici (The Sunday Times, September 18) argues that because the hunting of animals has been practised worldwide since time immemorial it should not be banned.

By his reasoning the way we lived hundreds of years ago should be retained.

Then perhaps we should still be living in caves, women should not be able to vote and hunters should still be hunting with bows and arrows.

While hunters have been wasting their time and intelligence killing God’s creatures, the world has progressed. Five-year-old kids are switching on their computers and seeing how wonderful a peaceful world can be, and how birds can form an important part of our lives.

Mr Mifsud Bonnici then argues that just because hunting is legal then it is right. Then by his reasoning slavery in America before the time of Abraham Lincoln was right because it was legal.

Slavery was and is morally wrong. Yet it was legal. And so is hunting beautiful birds. It is legal but morally wrong.

The only reason that limited spring hunting is legal in Malta is due to hunters holding our politicians to ransom.

Should Malta spend millions of our taxpayers’ money to try to keep hunters from shooting ­protected birds? Would it not be simpler to ban hunting and be done with all these useless problems?

Birds are defenceless animals and should be treated with kindness. After a brave flight of some 300 kilometres they should not be rewarded by being shot down as they land in Malta.

It is even crueller when, as often happens, the bird is wounded and flies away to die an agonising death.

It was reported that a grey heron in Marsascala was shot at and flew away with an injured dangling leg, probably to die a heartbreaking death. Is that not cruel?

I can assure your correspondent that I am not ­bothered by hunters’ shots in the morn-ing as I am an early riser.

However, tourists who come for some rest and other fellow ­Maltese who work shifts detest having their sleep interrupted by a barrage of shots.

This is not good for our ­productivity or for our tourist industry.

He also says he is waiting to be entertained by another of my bright ideas. I can assure him that whatever I write cannot be half as entertaining as seeing him going out hunting in a camouflaged fancy dress gown.