About 35,000 signatures have been collected requesting the holding of a referendum to abolish spring hunting.

A source close to the Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting told Times of Malta that the signatures were being vetted to check their validity.

For the abrogative referendum to be held, 10 per cent of Maltese voters need to sign the petition – which amounts to 33,418 signatures as stipulated by law.

“We are now checking all the information submitted to ensure it is correct and valid, and that there are no double signatures – and we still might need a few more,” said the source, adding that a target of 40,000 signatures would be ideal to ensure that the process goes through.

This would be the first time that the legislation which allows a popular vote to remove existing laws would be used. The legislation has been in place for 15 years.

“An abrogative referendum is an exercise in empowerment. People have to understand that this is different to the divorce consultative referendum because the government has no say in it – it’s all in the people’s hands,” said the spokesman.