For decades both the government and Opposition were held to ransom by the hunting lobby. On Saturday Prime Minister Joseph Muscat took the groundbreaking decision to close the hunting season ahead of time and hopefully end this stranglehold.

The decision was taken as a result of all the illegalities and the number of migrating protected birds shot down in the previous weeks. This is a decision that needs to be celebrated.

Hunting laws and their enforcement are just not working.

It is high time they are overhauled to make sure migratory birds are protected and crimes are properly punished.

Hopefully, this will also apply to other areas of environmental protection and not just hunting.

It is simply not right that so much manpower and money is spent on making sure hunters do not break the law while the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) turns a blind eye to hunting crimes.

Too often poachers go after protected birds and the FKNK does nothing about it.

Unfortunately, the FKNK seems to be more interested in some of its obligations to its members than in some of its other duties.

It will happily “safeguard the interests and entitlement of its members and affiliated members to practise and enjoy their hobbies from efforts to deny, decrease and/or abolish these hobbies on the territory” but will then fall short of making sure their members respect “the law governing the hobbies on the territory”.

As a federation, condemning illegal hunting is not enough. Action was needed to make sure it never came to this. The time for dialogue and consultation has been used and abused.

It was wrong for the Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights, Roderick Galdes, to abolish the 3pm curfew.

This was seen as a step backwards after the hard work done previously to protect migratory birds. Abolishing the curfew also meant that public spaces would become inaccessible to non-hunters.

The government also removed licence fees and restored finch trapping. While it can be said that it listened to the hunting lobby and gave its members increased freedoms, these took advantage of the situation and exploited those freedoms.

For hunting laws to be viable the FKNK needs to become proactive, actively regulating its members.

The only way Malta can put a stop to hunting illegalities is to have all sides together in a united front

What the Prime Minister did may usher in a new movement. This is why it should be given its due recognition.

Going forward, law-abiding hunters should be more inclined to report any activities that do not conform with the law, whose consequences would otherwise affect the enjoyment of their hobby.

It is true this was a radical approach but for far too long we have stood witness to atrocities and inaction. A drastic measure was the only way forward.

If the FKNK is a truly serious organisation dedicated to protecting and enhancing its members’ interests, it would do well to learn from this episode.

This was not an easy way to solve the problem of illegal hunting. I am sure the Prime Minister’s advisers have been studying the country’s general feeling about hunting for these past few months.

Many people have become a lot more vocal against the killing of birds since the anti-spring hunting petition was launched.

The government’s proposal to push back the local elections to 2019 has been seen as a bid to derail the referendum.

The administration knows this and it shows it wants to make amends. Its strong reaction to illegalities is welcome news. For far too long have some hunters terrorised the rest of the country, shooting outside the specified zones and times, misappropriating public land and engaging in other forms of bullying.

Above all, this shows that hunters too are under the watchful eye of the law.

Eyes will now turn to the Opposition. While it has welcomed the government’s decision it still needs to come out with concrete action to truly show that it will not tolerate undue pressure from the hunting lobby in exchange for votes.

The only way Malta can put a stop to illegalities is to have all sides together in a united front.

With Karmenu Vella expecting a grilling from the European Parliament in his bid to become European Commissioner responsible for the environment, it was also opportune for Dr Muscat to show that Malta is ready and able to stand by its obligations and exert control over the more unruly elements of society.

We can only hope that this action will not stop here and that Malta will, in the Prime Minister’s own words, be the best in Europe.