The Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting is still verifying the 43,000 signatures it collected in support of its call for a referendum to abolish spring hunting.

Coalition spokesman Christian Debono said: “We would like to thank all of the people who have helped to collect signatures for the petition and reassure everyone that wants the referendum to take place that we are working hard to ensure it happens as soon as feasible”.

The next stage in the process is to submit the petition to the Electoral Commission. “We want to make sure that once the petition has been submitted to the Electoral Commission, everything goes smoothly. That is why we are determined to verify every signature,” Mr Debono said.

More signatures were being collected and it was likely that the number would soon exceed 44,000, the coalition said.