All those who have the Maltese countryside at heart now have a chance to abolish hunting in spring. Of course, this is not a way of seeking revenge on hunters and their ‘pursuit’, as they call it, but a chance to educate those who do not have any respect towards life on wings.
I really find it hard to understand calling the killing of birds a hobby, a pursuit, a pastime. How can you consider such a negative attitude towards such beauty as a form of leisure? How can one find relaxation in such senseless killing?
A number of hunters have the impertinence to say that hunting helps them enjoy the early morning adventure as they are surrounded by the peace and quiet of the countryside. Is it possible they fail to see the incongruous nature of their way of enjoying life?
How can one appreciate the beauty of an idyllic scene when, at the same time, one is contemplating ways to destroy it? Such sheer arrogance is further aggravated by the abusive and offensive manner in which some selfish hunters try to take over and control movement on large stretches of land ideal for walking and rambling.
Apart from the exaggeratedly-huge white lettering – most notably RTO, Keep Out, Private – randomly splashed over corbelled huts, rubble walls and pristine rock, in a bid to keep away nature lovers and walking enthusiasts, one comes across an endless assortment of fences and gates.
These feature in all shapes and sizes, from a block of stone or two obstructing the way along a pleasant pathway to the thinnest of chains/strands of wire across a passageway, in the centre of which a dangling shabby placard displaying an arrogant No Entry directive.
How I abhor these killjoys that do their best to ruin one’s sense of peaceful pleasure!
Although I sympathise with those law-abiding hunters who go by the book on their hunting trips, I find it hard to understand why they hold back when it comes to disclosing information related to illegal practices, particularly when protected species are being shot down indiscriminately even in the vicinity of precincts that have been created on purpose to shelter such vulnerable creatures.
This is a chance to educate those who do not have any respect towards life on wings
If they don’t have such knowledge, surely FKNK, the association they have joined to uphold their cause, has. If, as they say, the culprits are simply a handful, it is even easier for them to make them known.
It is indeed their duty to let the public know more about those who are doing so much harm to our countryside, a legacy which is everyone’s to enjoy.
If, as they claim, these wrongdoers are damaging the association’s good intentions, how is it they remain so silent?
The opportunity to do away with hunting in spring is not just an issue where one votes in favour or against hunters; there is more than meets the eye. Indeed, we have always been taught and, through experience, we have come to realise and understand that spring stands for life. In fact, the word itself is synonymous with life. Or, rather, spring is all about the renewal of life.
We humans look at spring as the season that leads us to light and warmth after the dark and cold of the winter months. The same goes for the plant kingdom where we are inspired by hope with the first colourful blooms of so many new flowers and the light green of the new leaves.
This renewal of life is, in the animal kingdom, most remarkably conspicuous in birds. This is, in fact, where all the significance of the April referendum lies.
It is a must for all of us who value the natural world to vote No in this referendum to spring hunting, not only because we detest the destruction of life but more because we want to give a chance to all migratory birds to lay and hatch their eggs in peace.
They have a right for this. How can it be otherwise when these birds risk everything as they migrate in their thousands for one specific purpose, to renew themselves, when they fight tooth and nail to protect their nestlings.
Shame on both leaders of the two major political parties for telling the media how they are going to vote. It is even more shameful when both try to convince the public that their action is not politically motivated and that it is not related to so many thousands of votes.
Had they kept quiet they would have undoubtedly won the sympathy of so many other thousands who love the environment and who now face a more uphill struggle in the referendum of April 11.
This makes it even more imperative that they all turn out on April 11 and vote No.
John Caruana is a former teacher.