Let’s assume for a moment that BBC wildlife presenter Chris Packham has over dramatised the extent of bird shooting in Malta. Let’s also try to believe that enforcement has cut down the number of hunting illegalities this year.

What is certain is that the spring hunting season has been another veritable disaster  for hunters, bird lovers, the police, the government... the country. As the spring hunting season closes today, each one of us should ask: was it all worth it?

Before Prime Minister Joseph Muscat continues with his mantra that spring hunting was an electoral pledge, and before he indulges into even more dangerous (and illegal) territory like trapping, he should take a step back and take stock of the situation.

The illegalities witnessed during the past few weeks were not a few. Families have had to contend with men carrying shotguns in the countryside, including Sundays and public holidays. The public has had to endure the rattle of shotguns during a season when it is banned in the rest of Europe. A ridiculous amount of taxpayers’ money was spent on enforcement just to ensure a few thousand hunters do not step out of line.

But when law enforcement for spring hunting illegalities results in hours of interrogation of a foreign journalist and wildlife conservation activists – time better spent dealing with those more likely to breach spring hunting regulations – it begs the question whether the government is really acting in the public interest or political expediency.

When the Prime Minister states that spring hunting must continue irrespective of the fact that tens of thousands will soon force a referendum, it is real cause for concern in a supposed democratic country. When confronted with the question of whether the government would support a referendum on spring hunting, the Prime Minister seemed more focused on shedding doubt on whether a referendum would be held.

His reluctance to shoot down the hunters’ petition to change the law to stop the referendum is inconceivable in any real democracy. We also have a situation where our supposedly Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights sticks up for hunting in spring. Hunting is not a right.

The hunters’ federation petition to change referendum laws to ‘defend the rights of minorities’ would be considered a joke anywhere in Europe. The implications of the government taking hunters’ demands seriously can have severe detrimental effects on real rights of minorities.

The Nationalist Party, in turn, seems to be sitting on the fence on the probable spring hunting referendum . Why not take a position against spring hunting now, on grounds that hunters have repeatedly stepped over the limit? Why not acknowledge that our hunting figures are flawed?

It will certainly send a good message to thousands of moderates who have had enough of a lobby which thrives on bullying. Ironically, the referendum offers a convenient exit for each of the political parties that have pandered to the hunting lobby over the years.

The bullying by the hunting lobby is not limited to forcing its demands on a public that opposes spring hunting. Within a few days, the FKNK issued an infantile statement to condemn Queen guitarist Brian May’s genuine appeal to stop spring hunting, described an animal rights’ activist of being “a mental case” and accused a journalist of committing crimes when documenting illegalities by hunters.

As Malta celebrates its 10th anniversary since joining the European Union tomorrow, the spring hunting issue is a real reminder of where we have failed.

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