True ornithologists should set up a local genuine ornithological society that lacks anti-hunting sentiments and is not politically motivated "for the good of wild birds and Malta", the hunters’ federation said.

In a statement the FKNK referred to what it described as ‘BirdLife Malta's childish actions especially their unethical and discriminate targeting of Government employees’.

Such actions, it said, were unacceptable in a democratic and civilized world. Birdlife walked out of an Ornis Committee meeting earlier this week and objected to a proposal by former FKNK council member, Joseph Lia, who was appointed by the government as special initiatives officer of the Wild Birds Regulation Unit.

The unit deals with all matters regarding sustainable hunting and includes hunting and trapping experts besides conservationists.

Birdlife’s attack on a civil servant employed with the unit, a trapping expert who is a member of the FKNK, “verge on serious unconstitutional discrimination, since the personal attacks are based on the fact that this particular civil servant happens to also be a trapper”.

The FKNK said that several Birdlife officials, members and activists who were, over the past decades, employed with Government’s Environment Department and/or other related Government departments, whose functions have now been taken over by the WBRU.

These, it said, included founder Joseph Sultana, Saviour Balzan, Alfred Baldacchino, Darren Grima and Natalino Fenech.

The FKNK said there were others who it would not name out of respect because they still occupied influential positions within hunting and trapping related Government departments and who were known to be anti-hunting.

Two were part of the unit and another two occupied senior positions with other Government ministries.