Hunting in spring can be sustainable, Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes said today.
Speaking during a debate on hunting at the university, organised by the University Students’ Council as part of Green Expo, Mr Galdes said there were hunters who were responsible, others who were not and a group who were downright criminals.
He urged hunters to report illegalities for more effective enforcement and noted that Malta’s legislation as amended in the past two years was among the harshest in Europe.
Referring to the suspension of autumn hunting, he said the suspension would not win anyone any votes but would send a clear message to some sectors.
In suspending the season, he said, the government wanted to give hunters a message showing them what they could lose if illegalities were committed.
AD chairman Arnold Cassola and BirdLife’s Mark Sultana insisted that it did not make sense to kill migrating birds in spring on their way to reproduce. If spring hunting was stopped, they argued, there would be an increase in bird watching tourism.
A hot debate ensure with St Hubert Hunters’ Mark Mifsud Bonnici accusing BirdLife of exaggerating and getting foreigners over to damage Malta. He disassociated himself from people who broke the law.
Mr Sultana argued, however, that the damage was being done by hunters.
Mr Galdes agreed that BirdLife sometimes exaggerated saying they said a bird was shot even if it fell naturally in the sea.
Matthew Agius, who was representing the Nationalist Party, acknowledged that the PN could have done more about hunting in the past. He said the party had not yet taken a position about the referendum but was listening to what the people had to say.
Discussion moderator Andrew Azzopardi kept asking him for the PN’s position and urging him not to sit on the fence.
Mr Agius said that since the call for a referendum came from the people, the people had to be listened to and the issue should not be politicised.
Birdwatcher Steve Zammit Lupi said there were not as many illegalities this year as in previous years because of a bad migratory season.
He criticised the fact that there was no wildlife unit, the police turned up 30 minutes after reports are lodged with the AFM but without the necessary equipment, such as binoculars.