Updated at 9.45pm with FKNK statement

The surge in the illegal hunting of protected birds has caught the attention of United Nations Patron of the Seas Lewis Pugh, who has sent a warning shot to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a strongly worded letter.

Dr Pugh, a leading international figure in efforts to protect oceans and wildlife, told Dr Muscat to immediately suspend the autumn hunting season. His position is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme.

“If Malta cancels the autumn hunting season with immediate effect, my action will cease here. If not, I will have no option but to use every means at my disposal to ensure that the killings do not go unchecked,” wrote Dr Pugh, who spent his childhood years in Malta and continues to visit the island.

The hunters’ federation (FKNK) has asked the Prime Minister to strongly counter the warning letter. (see statement below)

Dr Pugh extended an offer to meet the Prime Minister but made it clear that the country’s tolerance of illegal hunting was incompatible with the decision to hold the world’s largest oceans conference next year in Malta.

Malta being awarded the Our Oceans Conference was the tipping point. “Given what is currently happening over Malta’s land and seas, this is akin to Zimbabwe being invited to host a conference on democracy.

“A country shouldn’t be put on a pedestal as an environmental leader if it doesn’t protect its birdlife,” he said.

At least 20 protected birds have been shot in two weeks, the latest being a grey heron recovered on Thursday.

In his letter, Dr Pugh said the conference and Malta’s EU Council presidency presented opportunities to showcase the country’s history and tourism attractions.

“It would be a great pity if they were to be overshadowed by Malta having allowed endangered species to be hunted in her airspace and seas,” he said.

His love for the country shines through the letter. Dr Pugh told the Prime Minister he grew up on Malta’s beaches, among its wildlife and birdlife. His father – Surgeon Rear Admiral P.D. Gordon Pugh – ran the Royal Naval hospital in Mtarfa, where his mother was a nurse.

Malta hosting the world’s largest oceans conference is akin to Zimbabwe being invited to host a conference on democracy

He maintains a deep affection for the island and he has returned many times since. He told the Times of Malta: “My roots are in Malta, so it grieves me to see what is happening. While it is certainly not my intention to tell Maltese people what to do, I respectfully urge every Maltese citizen to look to his or her conscience.”

Dr Pugh has been following the issue of hunting in Malta for a number of years.

“In 2014, the government took action. Now it doesn’t. It needs to uphold the law and be consistent… it’s unacceptable for endangered or threatened species to be targeted. And if they can’t be protected, there has to be a suspension of hunting,” he said.

While these birds are flying over Malta, they are flying to Africa, and they are crucial for the continent’s ecosystem, as they are for the central and eastern European ecosystem from which they have come.

“These are not Maltese birds. They are the world’s birds,” he said.

He built on what he told the Prime Minister: “I’m aware of your strict fines and legislation, but irrespective of the will to enforce these laws, they don’t seem to be working. Illegal hunting is difficult to control; closing the hunting season till October 15 would give protected birds a safe passage.”

As well as being a maritime lawyer, Dr Pugh is an outspoken activist with a number of campaign wins under his belt. In 2010, the World Economic Forum named him a Young Global Leader.

In 2013, the United Nations appointed him as the UN Patron of the Oceans.

He was successful in persuading Shell not to frack in the fragile Karoo region of South Africa, as well as persuading Toyota, Merrill Lynch and the Royal Bank of Canada to end their sponsorships of shark killing competitions, among others.

In 2007, Dr Pugh undertook the first swim across the North Pole to highlight the melting of the Arctic sea ice.

He followed this feat in 2010 with a swim across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to draw attention to the melting glaciers in the Himalayas and the impact that the reduced water supply there will have upon peace in the region.

caroline.muscat@timesofmalta.com

Insult shows why world is facing global turmoil - FKNK

In a statement, the FKNK said that the days when the Maltese islands gave way to intimidation and threats were long gone. 

Today's insult by a United Nations (UN) patron, it said, went a long way to understand why the world was facing a global turmoil that was negatively affecting human lives.

“The insults in this UN's supporter letter to Malta's Prime Minister go beyond any endeavour to enter into reasonable discussions.  It is a serious reflection of intolerance and negative attitude, surely not consistent with the objectives of the UN.”

The federation asked the Prime Minister to strongly counter the letter, which, it said, included threats against Malta.

Contrary to what was said in the letter, the FKNK said, Malta could boast of having some of the best disciplined and law abiding hunters and trappers, and the least number of hunting related infringements, in the EU. 

It said the UN patron only parroted Birdlife’s lies and fallacies, and likewise called for a collective punishment measure through the immediate closure of the hunting season up to October 15, besides again hinting at damaging Malta's tourism industry. 

The birds flying over Malta, it said, were flying to Africa and were crucial for the continent’s ecosystem.

“So why doesn't this UN patron direct his campaign at the African countries where the millions of birds that fly over Malta unharmed end up in massive massacres, as can be easily evidenced in photos and videos available online.”

The FKNK said international treaties, conventions, legislation, case laws and judicial bodies, military manuals, national practices, organisations, conferences and other instruments, to which the UN more often than not had been party, always strongly condemned collective punishments.

“Furthermore, it should be noted, that, the three instances when the local hunters were collectively punished, were all illegal.”

In its request to the Prime Minister, the FKNK has also indicated comments made through the social media to the UN patron, by well-known anti-hunting persons.