The proposed development of a national shooting range in the area known as Ta’ Biżbiżija in the limits of Mosta has triggered off a storm of protest as it is feared such a range would have a negative impact on the area.

While it is perfectly understandable that people will have concerns and questions, it is a pity that the opponents of the project have taken such an uncompromising stance, especially since not all the facts are yet established, much less cast in stone. Much is being made of hypothetical noise pollution as well as safety issues.

Both are valid on a theoretical level, but they must be tackled through logic and reason operating on a sound empirical basis.

The issue of safety is a priori a lost cause for opponents of the range. Modern civilian shooting ranges are designed to ensure that not a single round can ever leave the range – the very idea of a stray round leaving the range is one that fills all target shooters with horror. That this issue has even been raised shows the utter ignorance of the facts that has marked opposition to this range from the very first.

Moving on to noise pollution, no shooter wants his sport to impinge upon the quality of life of his fellow citizens. In this regard too, the objectors have taken a stand before bothering to ascertain all the facts. It is common knowledge that it is quite possible, through careful design and construction techniques, to enable ranges to be sited alongside residential areas – there are numerous examples of this throughout Europe – without creating any inconvenience for neighbours and the wider community.

Furthermore, the distances between the firing points and the closest boundary wall of a private property are far in excess of what was originally claimed, meaning that the claims of the noise expected to be heard outside the range have even less grounding in reality.

The target shooting community has no wish to create any inconvenience to our future neighbours and the wider community.

Nor have we intention of violating the environmental integrity of the location as we are well aware of the fact that for this project to succeed in the long term, the wider picture must be taken into account.

My appeal is simply this: that any decision taken is based on logic, reason and hard facts rather than on unfounded fears and hypothetical scenarios.