It is “too late” to try to change a law which would block a probable referendum on spring hunting, government spokesman Carmelo Abela told The Sunday Times of Malta.

He was reacting to an appeal by the hunters’ federation, FKNK, for parliamentarians to review the referendum act and block the anti-spring hunting vote.

“I believe it is too late for such a change to be made to the Act. At this point, I don’t think there would be enough time for such a change to be brought into force,” he said.

The controversial season kicked off yesterday, prompting a statement from Birdlife Malta which rallied for support to make this the last spring hunting year in Malta.

More than 40,000 signatures have been raised to put a stop to the spring season. The hunters’ federation is also collecting signatures calling for a proposed amendment which would introduce a clause to stop national votes from impinging on “minority freedoms”.

This, they hope, would affectively block the referendum and allow the island’s spring season practices to continue.

Asked if the government would consider making such a change to the Act, Mr Abela said: “As far as I know the government is not contemplating any changes to the Referenda Act. Obviously we live in a democratic country so I am not excluding that this could be done, but not in such a short time that it would block the vote.”

He also said the government would form a final opinion if the hunters’ lobby went on to gather “enough” signatures.

Times of Malta yesterday revealed that children were among those who signed the hunters’ petition in an attempt to bolster the number of signatories.

The referendum has emerged as the only way people in Malta can stand up for wildlife

Asked for a reaction to Mr Abela’s comments, FKNK president Joe Perici Calascione said this was the MP’s opinion and not necessarily that of the entire parliament. “I don’t necessarily agree. This is ultimately up to the government to decide. We will give them the opinion of a different set of people and then we will see what they have to say,” he said, adding that the organisation would continue to lobby for the legal amendments for as long as the process went on.

Times of Malta yesterday also revealed that the first stage of the referendum had been extended by three months. Chief Electoral Commissioner Joseph Church said that without the extension, the commission would not have managed to verify all the anti-spring hunting signatures within the 15-day window.

Despite this, Mr Abela still felt there would not be enough time to change the law, adding that even a delay in the later stages of the process would probably not buy enough time to block the vote.

Asked whether the Opposition was excluding the hunters’ proposed amendment, party whip David Agius said he was excluding nothing.

“Our parliamentary group has not yet discussed this issue. Once we discuss this we will form a decision,” he said.

Birdlife yesterday launched an awareness campaign to mark the opening of the spring hunting season. “The referendum has emerged as the only way people in Malta can stand up for wildlife and for their own right to have safe access and use of the countryside in spring, when it is the best time to enjoy nature,” said Birdlife’s conservation and policy officer Christian Debono.

The spring hunting season will be open until April 30, including Sundays and public holidays, until noon.

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