Throughout the spring hunting referendum campaign we have been bombarded with all sorts of data and images. We have seen disturbing images of dead or injured birds with gunshot wounds, soliciting indignation and disgust, and in the case of our young citizens even a tear or two.
On the other hand we have been steadily fed serene images of happy looking families in the countryside, soliciting confusion and no small measure of sarcasm, due to the obvious inconsistencies of those posters with the message they seek to deliver.
But sitting back and reflecting about the significance of this referendum, it dawned on me that really and truly we are being misled by both camps into believing that this is only about birds. It is no wonder that in most polls there are still many ‘undecided’ or who ‘will not vote’.
How and why they should vote is what both camps should be working on.
A few things should make people understand this is not just about birds. Hunting in Malta was a necessary means of survival at a time when it was backward and undeveloped, food was scarce and birds plentiful.
What we should reflect on is whether or not that reality still exists. Is hunting needed for families to survive? Are the birds being killed feeding Maltese families?
Some in the hunting community have said they still occasionally make soup with their catch, but is it because they have no other means of survival or is it just for the ‘fun’ of it? If we reflect on that we will easily answer these questions.
We should then ask ourselves a few more. Is it fine for us that birds flying over Malta, on their way to breed and nurture their young, are shot out of the sky just for the fun of it?
Do we believe that, in what we like to call a civilised and caring society, it is acceptable for animals to be obliterated just to satisfy the urge of some to pummel living creatures with lead?
Do we deem that acceptable in this day and age? If we do, then we should vote to retain spring hunting, but if we don’t we should understand that it is not just about birds… it is above all about a way of life, so we should exercise our right to secure the way of life we believe in.
Do we feel it is acceptable for a small number of men in camouflage fatigues to lord over the countryside?
We all love spring. We look forward to some sunshine, enjoying the countryside, seeing our kids getting into all sorts of mischief during picnics and other outdoor activities. The spring hunting season means that the hunting community will lord over our countryside for ‘only’ three weeks. In those three weeks no family in its right mind will expose its kids, or indeed anyone at all, to the countryside, as history has shown us that the hunting community means business.
What we have to ask ourselves is this: Do we feel that it is acceptable for a small number of men in camouflage fatigues to lord over the countryside, suitably armed with shotguns, to the exclusion of everyone else? Are we fine with public property, there for the enjoyment of all and maintained with everyone’s taxes, being occupied by men with guns while the rest of us have to stay at home, or at best stroll along some over frequented seafront promenade?
Do we believe that in 2015 this is an acceptable state of play? If we do then we should vote to retain spring hunting, but if we don’t we should understand that it is not just about birds… it is about our quality of life and our right to space and its enjoyment, so we should exercise that right.
How we act and react reflects on who we are and what we want to be. It also influences how others perceive us, but above all it determines the quality of life we wish to enjoy. Is pummeling living creatures with lead consistent with the evolution of our society into a ‘modern’ and ‘caring’ one? Is it consistent with the many positive changes we have seen over the years in the fields of human rights, social outreach and civil liberties, all of which are based on respect for the rule of law, respect for each and every one of us and adherence to a civil way of life?
Is obliterating birds for fun, while they are flying to Northern Europe to breed and nurture their young ones, consistent with all that? Is granting absolute possession of our countryside to a few gun-toting men in camouflage fatigues consistent with all that?
If we believe so then by all means we should vote to retain spring hunting, but if we don’t and we aspire for a far better quality of life, then we should not be misled into thinking this is only about birds. It is far more than that!
It is about respecting nature, guaranteeing our right to enjoy our common external spaces, adhering to civil behaviour and respecting each other. Indeed it is about respecting ourselves and our own intelligence! Do we respect ourselves? If we do then we should all act respectfully but intelligently on April 11.
David Griscti is president of the AŻAD Foundation.