In the April 11 referendum, those who proposed it will be voting No. Those who are in favour of spring hunting will be voting Yes.

Then there are others who, like me, are against the actual principle behind this referendum, that is, the principle that the presumed majority has the right to impose its will on a minority.

These latter people will be boycotting the referendum. In fact, I know people who are against spring hunting and will still be boycotting the referendum.

Others are of the opinion that the spring hunting referendum is a sheer waste of people’s money and, therefore, they do not want to have anything to do with it.

If the people who proposed this referendum have their way, there is the possibility that they, or others of the same ilk, will try to make another imposition.

Others argued that this is far fetched and impossible.

How do they know? The referendum backers have already managed to make the government prohibit visits to Malta by animal circuses and this was done without consulting the people.

The excuse was that animals at the circus are made to suffer, which, in my opinion, is not true. Animals at the circus are well cared for and fed. However, these people succeeded in denying Maltese children the rare occasion of seeing real exotic animals in their own country.

The Italian proverb says L’appetito vien mangiando – one’s apptite comes as one starts eating. Nobody will stop these people unless they suffer a setback with this referendum.

That is why many voters will be resorting to a boycott as a matter of principle.