Goldfinch and Green Finch, two prized decoy birds, are the most common hunting-inspired house names of those who signed the hunters’ petition, according to an exercise carried out by The Sunday Times of Malta.
A sample analysis of the signatures conducted by this newspaper showed that two per cent of them came from houses named after different birds targeted by trappers.
The house names ranged from Eagle to Merill, Dura and the more obvious Hunting Lodge and Hunter’s Paradise.
Perhaps the most enthusiastic signatories were a family of five who live in a house called Golden Eagle, in Triq-Il-Kaċċaturi (Hunters’ Road).
The petition, gathered by the hunters’ federation FKNK, was presented in Parliament last month and is calling on MPs to amend the Referenda Act to block a proposed spring hunting referendum.
The referendum was prompted by a group of green NGOs who collected 40,000 signatures – 10,000 more than the 10 per cent of the electorate required to force a national vote.
The FKNK, however, did not focus its campaign on the proposed referendum and rallied support from different “minority groups” including fireworks aficionados and horse owners. When contacted, the majority of the ‘minority groups’ had said they had supported the hunters’ cause.
While the referendum signatures are subject to vetting by the Electoral Commission, the signatures collected by hunters need not be verified since their petition has no legal value, even if it may carry moral weight. A more focused look at the petition reveals that 41 per cent of the 100,000 signatures came from the second, third, fourth and fifth electoral districts, widely recognised as the south end of the island.
Where they signed
A more focused look at the petition reveals that 41 per cent of the 100,000 signatures came from the second, third, fourth and fifth electoral districts, widely recognised as the south end of the island.The largest turnout, 11 per cent, came from Żejtun, Birżebbuġa and Żabbar. Marsaxlokk, a popular hunting destination, also ranked high on the list.
Three-quarters of the signatories were men, and the bulk of women who signed were joined by their husbands.
The central region of the island also came in strong, with a quarter of the signatures from Birkirkara, Qormi, Rabat and Żebbuġ.
Gozo, regularly touted as a hunting stronghold, gathered 16 per cent of the signatures; the same amount collected from the north of the island.
The petition is by far the largest of its kind, having amassed 10 times the number of hunters registered with the FKNK. And, while 14 per cent of the signatures did not tally with the electoral register, the majority seem to be authentic.
An individual look at the signatures does shed more light on the hunters’ collection process.
Other unlikely signatories included Walter White, the rogue chemistry teacher- turned drug dealer from HBO’s hit TV series Breaking Bad
In many of the pages seen by this newspaper, large chunks of names are written in the same handwriting, suggesting that individual signatories may have signed for their family members and friends.
In the majority of these cases only the names and ID card numbers were written in the same handwriting, while the all-important signatures appeared to be legitimate.
One round of three pages of the petition was written entirely in the same handwriting and none was signed. However, these account for an insignificant proportion of the total. Less than one per cent had signed more than once.
A similar analysis carried out by the FKNK revealed that some 1.6 per cent of the signatures were invalid. These included those who had not filled out the petition correctly, and minors.
Among the invalid signatures to catch this newspaper’s eye was a scribble which read Mickey Mouse and another signed No Way.
Other unlikely signatories included Walter White, the rogue chemistry teacher-turned drug dealer from HBO’s hit TV series Breaking Bad and an unknown person who signed XX XX.