Shooting of flamingos condemned by Environment Ministry

E. Azzopardi

Oct 5th 2012, 23:12

The ministry should see that this does not happen. Condemning alone is not good enough.

Isn't this doing enough harm to our tourism?

And there is only one solution. Abolish hunting and trapping.

Philip Mizzi

Oct 5th 2012, 22:17

The environment ministry should hear the public outcry and work towards abolishing hunting altogether not just condemn.

These birdkillers are depriving decent citizens the joy of seeing these graceful creatures gracing our skies. They are also killing birds that would otherwise be enjoyed by other countries where they migrate to and from.

Shame on them and shame on their defenders. Hunting abolishing is now long overdue. Society's call is very clear. STOP THESE BIRDKILLERS ONCE AND FOR ALL. They hide under legal hunting to blast every feather out of the sky for their cheap thrill.

Mr Victor Borg

Oct 5th 2012, 21:30

We don't need your condemnation. We need the end of hypocrisy. We need the police unit responsible for enforcement to be beefed up. We need the PN to stop pandering to hunter's destructiveness.

We need a stop to illegal hunting, not words.

Show your leadership Mario De Marco: show that you matter in the modern world.

Nyal Xuereb

Oct 5th 2012, 18:37

For all those who are suggesting a ban on hunting, I say it will not make a difference. Kindly read my post earlier and it explains it all. You can ban hunting, guns and whatever method of catching a bird you can think of. The problem is that there are some ruthless individuals who will keep on breaking the law. Past courts sentences show that most of the time its a person who does not even have a licence and the gun would not even be registered. These instances have nothing to do with hunting. This is crime. Just because a gun is used for the crime, you don't ban the use of the gun.

Chris Finch

Oct 5th 2012, 17:44

Come on, Costa Rica has done it, Malta can too. Ban hunting. Plus Costa Rica is much bigger than Malta.

Emanuel Curmi

Oct 5th 2012, 15:13

I really like the statement of the Environment Ministry '.....went against the interests of the country and of legal hunters' . One of the most impressive of Birds gets massacred and the ministry's prime concerns is the tarnished reputation of the hunting lobby. This is like saying any traffic accident in Malta is a blemish on our driving skills.
How pathetic can one get? It is understandable that the political parties are grovelling for votes but at least one should keep cheap PR gimmicks out when dealing with serious environmental deficits in Malta.

Harold Felice

Oct 5th 2012, 15:10

Right now that we all know about it, how about banning this barbaric practice once and for all?

D Borg

Oct 5th 2012, 14:51

George Pullicino has suspended the hunting season after a public outcry over the blantant killing of a flock of protected birds....

Mario Demarco, is sending the wrong messages, about his clout and credentials for future positions within the party, if he fails to do likewise.

R Mallia

Oct 5th 2012, 13:47

Good now that the ministry knows about it, how about giving them a lesson?

Mark Sultana

Oct 5th 2012, 13:37

dear minister, would you talk to your cabinet and propose the immediate need to create a wildlife crime unit with proper resources. Ale staff are incredibly hard working and dedicated but they are very few for this problem and have other issues in their remit.

Pauline Thompson

Oct 5th 2012, 13:29

How irresponsible!! I hope that the idiot/s (to put it mildly) get caught and will be severely punished. To be fair I think FKNK have a very hard task to deal with these senseless creatures. To think that the majority of the Maltese population are Christians yet some think it's ok to be blasting God's creations out the sky for their own personal satisfaction. Disgraceful!!

Franco Farrugia

Oct 5th 2012, 13:22

And then we have individuals who claim that Birdlife is wrong and that it's making false assertions.
Rather than condemning this act that deserves the condemnation of one and all, the Ministry should suspend the hunting season WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT. People who claim that this is only the tip of the iceberg, are completely right! FKNK need to get their priorities right - but then, that would be expecting the impossible, no?

mike fenech

Oct 5th 2012, 13:04

Suspend hunting altogether. Oh PN/PL can’t talk about that the election is coming.

anthony sultana

Oct 5th 2012, 12:58

If PN show some teeth on the birds killers he will gain some votes,remember last time PN won the election with hunting season close.

Alfred Fenech

Oct 5th 2012, 12:49

HUNTING should be illegalized. Not to a few who break the LAW, but to all. Lets have some
foreign birds rest in MALTA ALIVE not DEAD.

Jeremy J Camilleri

Oct 5th 2012, 12:37

Hunting federations are strangely quiet are they not?

C Mallia

Oct 5th 2012, 12:34

Words, words, and more words. How about beefing up ALE properly as many environmental organisations have been requesting for years. BTW, did the police commissioner accept the free gift of drones from CABS??

Josie Barber

Oct 5th 2012, 12:32

Punish the perpetrators, there is no respect for nature or life when people behave this way. Put up a reward of some type for information leading to the arrest and shame them. Let their identity become public knowledge....

H. Galea (NRK)

Oct 5th 2012, 12:30

As time continues to tick by, the more apparent and indicated that it is becoming that there is but one solution to all this – referring the issue to the general public. Then and only then, would it be possible to stop this irresponsible behavior, and recall and destroy all arms. The earlier action be taken, the better.

James Tyrrell

Oct 5th 2012, 12:20

Every time something like this happens, and they seem to happen on a daily basis during the hunting season, the people accused of carrying out these acts are described as illegal hunters. At what point does a hunter become an illegal hunter? Does this only occur when they carry out an illegal act and if that is indeed the case why is no action taken by the FKNK? The ones ultimately to blame for the shooting of these flamingos and every other shooting of protected species are the FKNK because by not acting against the members responsible they are in effect sanctioning such acts. What's the point of having a controlling body which can't control?

Joe A. Borg

Oct 5th 2012, 12:19

The gunning of the flamingos at Salini on Wednesday has been deplored by the Environment Ministry, even though he know that this is his fault as he would not like to prohibit hunting as this will mean loosing VOTES!!

Nyal Xuereb

Oct 5th 2012, 12:09

I would like to clarify that a hunter is the one who has a valid licence and sticks to the law. A poacher is the definition of a handful of people, very probably unlicensed individuals using unregistered guns, who target specific birds, such as these flamingos, or simply people who disregard any law and do what they please. I hope the perpetrator(s) get caught and if found guilty are sent to jail and lose any chance of obtaining any hunting licence for a lifetime, if they have one that is.

Jay Oatmon

Oct 5th 2012, 12:03

The bird killers get a kick out blasting birds from the sky legal or illegal - and the FKNK has shown no inclination to crack down on the illegal bird killers. All the FKNK seems to do is make counter arguments and claims - they are in denial big time.