Anton Borg (October 2) accused me of being disingenuous in my letter about shooting in Scotland for ignoring one vital point: “In Great Britain, birds are specifically bred for the shoot. Indigenous wild fowl are left to breed and exist in peace.”

Just to clear his perception about Maltese hunters, since, as he states, “in Malta, hunters destroy wild migratory birds, damaging the ecosystem in the process”. This is what is shot in Britain where “wild fowl are left to breed and exist in peace”.

If, indeed, he still considers my writing deceitful, then I suggest he consults this website to confirm who is trying to fool whom: http://www.basc.org.uk//en/departments/game-and-gamekeeping/game-shooting/shooting-seasons.cfm , apart from the fact that the term “wild fowl” actually refers to duck and goose species, practically all of which are shot.

The list of UK quarry species consists of the following wild fowl and birds. None are specifically bred for the shoot, all are migratory free flying birds that make excellent eating and some are also shot in Malta and throughout Europe:

Greylag goose, pink-footed goose, white-fronted goose, Canada goose, mallard, wigeon, teal, pintail, gadwall, shoveller, tufted duck, pochard, goldeneye, grey partridge, red grouse, black grouse, ptarmigan, snipe, woodcock, golden plover, coot and moorhen.

Added to these are the UK bird pest quarry species shot under the “general licence”, all being wild birds that can be shot 365 days a year or, alternatively, have their nests destroyed: woodpigeon, feral pigeon, crow, rook, magpie, jackdaw, jay, collared doves, Canada goose and Egyptian goose.

Should this not suffice to show his prejudice of Maltese hunters, British hunters can also shoot rabbit and fox day or night 365 days a year, hare and the following deer species within season: red, fallow, sika roe, Chinese water deer and muntjac.

As for bred birds, only pheasant, red-legged partridge and a few grey partridges are released on shoots and make up but a small percentage of the 22,149,024 that are shot annually in the UK.

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