FKNK hits out at woodland regulations

The Federation for Hunting & Conservation – Malta (FKNK) has strongly objected to sections of the draft Trees and Woodlands Regulations describing them as a 'monster'.

"It is astonishingly clear that the draft regulations are the result of armchair thinking with little basis in reality," the federation said.

It said that the section of the regulations dealing with  'invasive or alien species', needed to be revised and amended to take into account that the majority of existing plantations contributed in no small measure to the present beauty of the Maltese landscape.

It insisted  that compensatory measures should be in place for any trees that have to be replaced, and at no cost to the landowners. No discrimination between different entities should take place and, the FKNK said, it should be represented on the board of the Competent Authority since many of the plantations were planted by hunters.

The association said the Maltese countryside is now much greener than it was up to some time ago. This environment 'miracle' did not happen overnight but was mainly brought about by the hunters and trappers who did their utmost to transform their mini-acres from semi-desert into miniature oases.

"They did this by investing their time, labour, energy and money in planting thousands of trees and nursing them to full growth. As a result of these efforts, the Maltese and Gozitan countryside looks a great deal better than it did a generation ago."

It could not be denied, the federation said, that, without any fanfare, the hunters and trappers have contributed the lion's share to the greening of the Maltese islands over many years.

However, it warned, the new Trees and Woodlands regulations could deal a major blow to this great achievement, inasmuch as they pave the way for the possibility that all such trees may be destroyed and removed.... at the sole discretion of the Competent Authority.

That would be a great folly and would constitute a massive setback for the very environment they purport to protect.