Hunters yesterday called on the next government to prevent foreigners from roaming the countryside as they pleased.
Unbelievable and absurd
The curb on the movement of foreigners was one of 12 pre-election proposals published by the hunters’ federation (FKNK) for the political parties to consider.
Contacted for clarification on this proposal, FKNK president Joe Perici Calascione said: “If they (foreigners) want to see birds, they can go to special places.”
Mr Perici Calascione suggested that foreigners could go bird-watching in Buskett, where the federation has ensured no illegal hunting takes place.
“A lot of tourists do not respect privacy. Here in Malta they are given the freedom to move about without sticking to footpaths.
“The countryside belongs to everyone, but there is a lot of the Maltese countryside that is privately owned or leased,” he said.
He suggested that the Malta Tourism Authority creates clear footpaths so that tourists do not wander into private fields.
The FKNK president blamed conservation NGO Birdlife for giving foreigners the wrong perception of Maltese hunters.
“Hunting in Malta is targeted as something bad. It’s when they (foreigners) trespass – and they trespass with a certain arrogance – that we have a problem.”
Claims that much of the countryside is private property have been disputed by NGOs recently.
Last weekend Birdlife drew attention to what it described as the “illegal occupation of the countryside” and proliferation of “illegal signs and graffiti”.
In The Times yesterday, the Ramblers Association suggested that supposed landowners or lease-holders blocking access to the countryside should be forced to affix documentation on their gates proving their rights to the land.
Asked to respond to the proposal to restrict the movement of foreigners, Tourism Minister Mario de Marco said: “The Tourism Policy (2012-2016) includes proposals for strengthening this aspect of our country’s tourism product and in recent years through projects such as the Malta Goes Rural, we have invested in improving areas of our countryside to make them more accessible and attractive to tourists.
“Public areas of our countryside are therefore an important element of our country’s tourism product and are to remain accessible for the enjoyment of tourists and the general public.”
Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday called the proposal “unbelievable” and “absurd”.
“Malta is a free country where public land belongs to everyone. Malta is also part of the European Union and therefore every Maltese and European has freedom of movement,” AD said.
PL environment spokesman Leo Brincat refused to comment.
“I think it’s only fair that we react as a political party and not as individual,” he said.
Among its other proposals published yesterday, the FKNK called for an amnesty for stuffed birds along with a new system to stop abuse.
It proposed the reintroduction of trapping licences and a system to fund the FKNK through fees paid for hunting and trapping.
The federation said it was also seeking limited trapping of song birds in the autumn and the “correct application” of a spring hunting derogation according to the judgment of the European Court, with the removal of “unnecessary restrictions” not found in EU rules.
Similarly it called for the “correct application” of a derogation to allow turtle dove hunting in spring.
The federation said other restrictions not found in EU rules should also be removed, including the ban on hunting after 3pm in the second half of September and limitations on hunting from the seashore.
It also called for a fixed spring/winter hunting season.