UPDATE 3 - Brian May's reaction, Kaccaturi San Umbertu statement
World famous guitarist Brian May today again called for action to stop the slaughter of birds in Malta.
His comments came as the FKNK and the chairman of the Malta Tourism Authority, Gavin Gulia, hit out at the remarks against spring hunting he made during his concert in Palace Square last Saturday.
In a statement, the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) deplored Dr May's remarks.
"Brian May, invited, at probably no small cost from the hunters’ (and other locals’) taxpayer’s till, to dazzle us with his music, thought fit to tread on the anti-hunting lobby's field in statements that he made to the Maltese public against a legal hunting practice on the islands, also endorsed by the European Court of Justice," the FKNK said.
"In a typical Colonial fashion, May deemed fit to remind us that the British always know better and that any other manner than theirs, of doing things, is wrong. The irony of this statement is that it materialised on none other than the celebration of Malta’s Freedom Day. The day, the Maltese proudly regained their freedom from the ties of foreign rule.
What May so subtly forgot to tell his audience, was that hunting and killing of animals is only wrong when it is done by the Maltese- FKNK
"What May so subtly forgot to tell his audience, was that hunting and killing of animals is only wrong when it is done by the Maltese. He forgot to tell his audience that when it came down to his personal decision on whether to kill or let live dozens of deer (Bambis – for those who only know wild animals from the movies) he opted for the massacre of these innocent creatures just because they happened to live on a stretch of land that he had purchased," the FKNK said.
"Therefore, the FKNK has little else to say to hypocrites who feel that they can pontificate to who they believe to be third-world beings, so May can save us his hypocritical views and go back home to ponder on whether he should kill more of Bambi’s relatives, or give them some space to live on his land."
TOURISM AUTHORITY CHAIRMAN ALSO ATTACKS MAY
Tourism Authority Chairman Gavin Gulia also criticised Dr May in a facebook post, saying Dr May was brought here to sing and not to make appeals for people to vote against hunting. He felt Dr May's appeal was a mistake and he had allowed others to use him.
He wrote: Jien mhux kaccatur, qatt ma zammejt senter u qatt ma sparajt tir. Pero nirrispetta l-minoranzi inkluzi l-kaccaturi w n-nassaba. Brian May gie mistieden Malta biex ikanta u mhux biex jaghmel appelli lill-poplu biex jivvutaw kontra l-kacca fir-rebbiegha. Ma kienx floku l-bierah u ghalija zbalja li halla min jinqeda bih.
BRIAN MAY'S NEW APPEAL
Meanwhile, writing in his blog today, Dr May praised the Maltese as being 'a fantastic bunch, a race of people full of friendliness, and pride in their home-grown qualities'. He added:
"But let me tell you about the fight for decent treatment of wild animals in Malta, specifically wild birds. Of course, as in almost all countries, tradition has a lot to answer for, and Malta is no exception. Tradition, as with the fox hunters and shooters and despicable badger-baiters in the UK, is used to justify all sorts of abuse of animals, and it will take every ounce of strength from people pursuing decency to wipe out the ancient barbarism which lingers on.
In Malta they have a tradition, held on to by a minority, but a powerful minority, in the face of the bulk of public opinion. They basically shoot all kinds of songbirds, including blackbirds and turtle doves, as they migrate through Maltese Airspace.
Can it be justified in terms of these people being hungry, and needing to eat these small animals? No. Of course not … this is just another manifestation of the vestiges of savagery in Humans - it's done for pleasure. It's no use appeal to these people on the grounds of compassion, or empathy, or even acquiescence to what most people regard as common decency. They have to be stopped by law, and the law has to be enforced."
After referring to the signatures raised to force a referendum on spring hunting, he added:
"So these bird protection people will get their referendum, and with about 60 per cent of the population in favour of a ban, they should get the law changed. In some cases the Government welcomes this process, because they can wash their hands of an embarrassing matter. That seems to be the case for the bird issue.
The present government is against hunting, but would find it hard to go against the small but powerful pro-hunting faction. So the referendum, (due to be held next year ?) just enables them to sidestep the issue and not make enemies in the hunting community.- Brian May
The present government is against hunting, but would find it hard to go against the small but powerful pro-hunting faction. So the referendum, (due to be held next year ?) just enables them to sidestep the issue and not make enemies in the hunting community."
May also wrote in the Daily Telegraph to reply to claims that he was hypocritical for having allowed a cull of deer on his estate.
"Last week, I was accused of being “utterly hypocritical” because my land management agent had licensed a gamekeeper to cull deer on my forest land in Dorset.
The gamekeeper in question, no longer employed by us, boasted that he had killed 23 young animals purely “for sport”. The part about deer control is true – but the latter claim is shocking to me.
"For years, I have been a staunch opponent of the proposed badger cull, and I am firmly against all forms of cruelty to animals. But there is a vast difference between culling deer and massacring badgers. The two have very different aims. I acted on the best available advice in allowing deer culling for a limited time on my property, for the health and safety of the herd – and, as an animal rights campaigner, I certainly have no reason to apologise," he said.
KACCATURI SAN UMBERTU SAY MAY WAS BIRDLIFE PARROT
Meanwhile, Kaccaturi San Umbertu in a statement this afternoon also hit out at Brian May.They said Dr May was "a relic of the legendary band Queen who has as much knowledge of Malta’s democratic processes or Maltese hunting as a British Jam doughnut.
The association noted how Dr May was featured as the cover picture on the facebook page of Birdlife Malta's executive director, saying this should clear any doubts about the strength of May’s convictions about Malta as being his own.
"Clearly Brian May was exercising his support for animal rights by being the perfect Birdlife Malta parrot," the association said.
"Kaccaturi San Ubertu deplore the hijacking of a public event paid for by the Maltese taxpayer for the promotion of Birdlife Malta’s abolitionist agenda."