The 50th anniversary of Malta’s independence was a day for old friends and adversaries to come together to celebrate. The Prime Minister and the leader of the Opposition stood in unity to mark the country’s many achievements and the former colonising power sent its future king to be guest of honour. The images and memories of the day should be one of overriding joy and positivity.
For me, Independence Day will be unforgettable too. I spent the afternoon at a garden party where Prince William mingled with the Maltese and expat community. The mood at the party was one of overwhelming happiness. Such events require that you switch off your mobile phone, so it was not until I got home that I listened to the flurry of messages informing me of other events in Valletta and an emerging situation at Buskett.
You simply cannot condemn an action on the one hand and say you understand it with the other
After the brave decision by the Prime Minister to close the hunting season from September 20 until October 10, a mob of hunters held an illegal protest in Valletta. One brandished a fake shotgun while others hurled abuse at Labour Party supporters and attacked representatives of the media.
Sadly, the images of hunters behaving like thugs in Valletta will have tarnished the overall positive image that Malta had achieved during its independence celebrations.
Some 30 of these hunters decided to go to Buskett. This is where some 13 birdwatchers and their friends had gathered to watch the daily spectacle of rare and protected birds fly over the trees in search of the right one to spend the night resting in. Instead, they were attacked by the hunters. One elderly gentleman was punched in the face. Among them was a seven-year-old child. I doubt that child will forget being chased out of the woodland by a thuggish mob.
Since it was elected in 2013, the government has set about giving concessions to hunters. However, the government also indicated that it would have a zero tolerance approach to the illegal hunting of protected birds, like the white storks that were shot last week.
BirdLife Malta would like to publicly thank the Prime Minister for stepping in and closing the season. We hope this is a turning point in the attitude of the government to hunting. We hope that the thuggery demonstrated by the hunters in Valletta and the violence perpetrated against innocent people will not be forgotten. The image of the hunter brandishing his gun in Valletta will surely not be forgotten.
The representatives of the hunting community claim that the thugs in Valletta were a small minority of hunters. To its credit, the smaller of the hunters’ organisations, KSU, issued a clear condemnation of the attack on birdwatchers. The larger FKNK’s response is more ambivalent.
When the season was closed on Saturday, FKNK issued a statement that included the following: “pending any legal action that the FKNK may decide to take to safeguard its and its members’ interests at law, the FKNK may contemplate other measures of protest.”
The illegal protest in Valletta took place the very next day. However, despite the widespread condemnation of the protest and the attacks, the FKNK stated late on Sunday that it “condemns any violent actions, as reported, that may have occurred as a consequence of the protest. Notwithstanding this, the FKNK understands the Maltese hunters’ frustration at being prevented from practising their hunting passions”.
You simply cannot condemn an action on the one hand and say you understand it with the other. Indeed, anyone reading such a statement can only conclude that the hierarchy of the FKNK have very little respect for either Malta’s independence celebrations, which were spoiled by the mob of hunters in Valletta, or the health and well-being of the birdwatchers who were attacked because their ‘passion’ comes first.
This ‘passion’ and the violent and aggressive behaviour it elicits when hunters do not get what they want has to be properly controlled and regulated. The closing of the hunting season by the Prime Minister is a major step in the right direction.
A European commissioner who will uphold the Birds Directive and take Malta to task for allowing spring hunting and bringing back finch trapping would solve so many problems. Next week, Karmenu Vella will be grilled by MEPs about his suitability to be the European commissioner to uphold that directive.
Despite the decision to temporarily close the hunting season, the government must show further resolve and action to curb the destructive ‘passions’ of hunters to be sure of securing Vella’s appointment. There have been remarks by the Prime Minister’s office that stricter controls will follow after the events on Sunday. Those controls need to be introduced and fast.
Steve Micklewright is executive director of BirdLife Malta