The hunting lobby will respect the referendum result regardless of the outcome, but it is not ruling out exploring legal remedies to reintroduce the hobby in the future, a spokeswoman said this morning.

Addressing a press conference in front of of the Mgarr church, Hunters Federation lawyer and campaigner Kathleen Grima said the Yes camp would not condone any hunting if the spring season was not opened as a result of the referendum.

Asked what alternatives the lobby would seek if it lost the referendum, Dr Grima  said that the solution would require careful thought and planning. She added that any solution would be "democratic and legal". Asked to elaborate, Dr Grima said legislation passed by parliament was not eternal and new laws were continuously passed in parliament.

"This is part of the democratic process," she said.

At the start of the referendum campaign FKNK President Joe Perici Calascione had said the vote would not necessarily be the end of the line, and the federation would look into every possible legal remedy.

Meanwhile, pro hunting campaigner Sylvana Zarb Darmanin questioned whether the anti hunting lobby would also respect the result of the referendum. She said Birdlife International, of which the local NGO is a branch, had said it would respect the result of the a European Court ruling on spring hunting, yet the current referendum went against this pledge.