The “largest hunting and fishing fair of the Mediterranean” will be held at the controversial Montekristo Estates in Luqa, where the organisers are also planning to have a temporary shooting range.
The event will be held within a partly sanctioned site at Ħal Farruġ but a permit is required for the temporary shooting range.
Montekristo Estates was developed illegally over the past decades and in 2013 was described by the planning watchdog as “one of the largest illegal sites in Malta”.
Advertised as the first and largest shooting and hunting fair of the Mediterranean, Caccia Village Malta, as the event is being called, will be held between April 1 and 3.
A temporary shooting range is planned, for which the organisers have been advised to seek an activities permit
When contacted, a Mepa spokesman said the planning authority had been informed by the organisers that the event would be taking place within the approved boundaries of a planning application. “Consequently, no further consent from Mepa would be required. However, a temporary shooting range is planned outside this area, for which the organisers have been advised to seek an activities permit prior to the event,” the spokesman said.
The promoters are the Italian Caccia Village organisers and the Federation for Hunting and Conservation.
A website advertising the event notes that the passion for hunting has always played an important role among Mediterranean inhabitants, driving the Caccia Village staff and FKNK to export the exhibition to Malta, “which has always been the commercial heart of the Mediterranean sea”. They specify that the event will take place when the hunting season has closed.
On display will be firearms used for hunting, sport and as collectors’ items, ammunition and reloading for hunting and sport shooting, as well as fishing and leisure equipment.
The website further notes that the “most important arms manufacturers” will be allowing visitors to try out their weapons at the fair’s shooting ranges.
Manufacturers from Korea, Japan, France, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Norway, the United States, Hong Kong and Taiwan will display a range of fishing equipment.