Spring hunting can be sustainable, Animal Rights Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes told university students yesterday.
“The EU accepted a spring hunting derogation and every year the government carries out research on migratory birds. Spring hunting can be sustainable,” Mr Galdes said.
He was speaking during a debate on spring hunting at the University of Malta organised by the students’ council as part of the Green Expo.
Mr Galdes said that while there were responsible and irresponsible hunters, there was a group of downright criminals who would act any time, even out of season.
Referring to last month’s 20-day freeze of autumn hunting following a string of hunting illegalities, Mr Galdes said the suspension did not win anyone any votes but sent a clear message.
“We wanted to send out a message to hunters to show them what they would lose out on if they did not obey the law.”
Noting that Malta’s amended legislation in the past two years was among the harshest in Europe, he urged hunters to report illegalities for more effective enforcement.
Although the debate did not initially draw a lot of students, a small crowd eventually formed as the discussion grew louder.
Student Steve Zammit Lupi, who is also a birdwatcher, said there were not as many illegalities this year as in previous years because of a bad migratory season.
He expressed concern that there was no wildlife crime unit and that the police turned up 30 minutes after reports were lodged without necessary equipment, such as binoculars.
At one point the discussion heated up when AD chairman Arnold Cassola and Birdlife’s Mark Sultana said it did not make sense to kill migrating birds in spring on their way to reproduce.
We wanted to send out a message
If spring hunting was stopped, Dr Cassola argued, there would be an increase in birdwatching tourism.
But Mark Mifsud Bonnici, from St Hubert Hunters’ Association, accused the conservation NGO of bringing foreigners over to damage Malta.
Mr Sultana replied that the damage was being done by hunters themselves.
Mr Galdes also had harsh words for Birdlife, saying that sometimes it exaggerated its statements, such as saying that a bird had been shot even if it fell in the sea to die a natural death.
To this, Mr Sultana said in reality, if they picked up a dying bird from the sea and on the way to the vet took a picture of the protected species they would be told they were breaking the law.
Throughout the debate, moderator Andrew Azzopardi asked Matthew Agius, who was representing the Nationalist Party, for the PN’s position on the spring hunting referendum, 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.