Birdlife Malta has sent a questionnaire to all election candidates to establish their positions on wildlife protection, law enforcement and public access to the countryside.

The eight-question document, which requires simple “yes or no” answers, asks if they think public areas should be safely accessible and whether they agree with hunting and trapping in public nature parks.

Questions also included whether no-hunting zones around residential areas should be increased and whether they supported forming a fully resourced wildlife crime unit to enforce the law.

The questionnaire forms part of Birdlife’s campaign to urge the public to speak out about abuses in the Maltese countryside.

“We hope that by asking these questions and publishing the results it will be easier for members of the public to see where their candidates stand on these issues and take this into account when choosing the person they want to represent them in Parliament for the next five years,” said Birdlife executive director Steve Micklewright.

“These are not just issues of vital importance for the future of the Maltese countryside and its birds and wildlife, they are issues that impact on the 95 per cent of the Maltese population who have as much right to enjoy the countryside as the five per cent whose interests have dominated for so many years.”