Spring hunting goes against any principle of conservation, the Studenti Demokristjani Maltin said, as it expressed itself in favour of sustainable hunting.

SDM noted that the spring hunting period was currently set to a three-week period in April in which some 10,000 hunters were allowed to bag a maximum of 11,000 turtle doves and 5,000 quails between them.

“Malta’s geographical location is an important factor in this debate as birds are being hunted during migration seasons. The environment is of major concern to SDM, particularly due to our duties towards our future generations. This is why SDM has decided to take a stand on the spring hunting issue,” it said.

Abolishing spring hunting, it added, did not mean the end of hunting as hunters would still retain five autumn months.