Egoists affecting our lifestyle

Three or four hunters insist on religiously boring us with their letters in this newspaper trying to justify their vice – hunting. One cannot think of one sound argument in favour of spring hunting or hunting in general for that matter.

On the contrary, people from different nationalities, including the German Ambassador and other foreign authorities maintain that they meet many people who inform them that they will not consider Malta in their travel plans because there are thousands of hunters. Nowhere in the world are there 11,000 hunters in a 300sq km area, which is Malta. On their arrival tourists immediately notice how birds are conspicuous by their absence.

Most visitors come to Malta during this time of the year in order to have a quiet holiday. But how can they? At 4am the barrage begins.

Sometimes our countryside looks more like a scene from the Vietnam War then the peace-ful tableau which the visitor was looking forward to seeing and enjoying.

Walking in the countryside is dangerous as the hunters believe that all the Maltese countryside, including the 47 Natura 2000 sites belong exclusively to them.

Hunters are a liability to our islands. They deprive the rest of us from seeing and enjoying birds in our trees and listening to their singing.

They are depleting the number and species of birds in the world, even though these feathered animals have the intelligence of seven year-old children.

This mob dirties our countryside with their cartridges, and pollutes the soil and therefore our vegetables with millions of lead pellets.

They startle us and our children with their shots, affecting the rhythm of our hearts. In fact the noise of a shotgun far exceeds the decibels allowed by European regulations.

Annually they are costing the government, and therefore Maltese taxpayers, millions of euros in employing dozens of police to try and control them from omitting illegalities.

It is a shame how two per cent of the population is affecting the life style of the rest of the Maltese people. Is this how democracy is supposed to work?