The first word of the seventh paragraph of the editorial (September 12) betrays The Times’ bias on the subject of hunting and trapping in the Maltese islands.

You use the word “unfortunately” to express your opinion on the “door left ajar to interpretation” by the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ) in the case The Commission vs Malta on the issue of spring hunting of turtle dove and quail.

I feel bound to correct certain statements made in this editorial.

“Might is right” is not my perception of how one should approach any issue in today’s civilised society and I, for one, am completely against this norm.

Arm-twisting of politicians and similar statements aimed to picture the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) as a political animal using its voting strength to favour one party or the other is old news.

The FKNK only states facts and has never been found to have stated or written anything that could not be confirmed; and so where is the arm-twisting? Is stating facts now also banned when it comes to hunting and trapping in the islands?

Coming to the EU issue and in particular to the Birds Directive (that should today go hand-in-hand with the Habitats Directive – together Nature Directives), the FKNK has been involved in the evolution of the interpretation and implementation of these directives for 28 years.

What these directives offer and what they impede is not something that can be made up to suit the anti-hunting lobby. There are clear exceptions to suit specific instances where, as in the Maltese islands, the particular bio-geographic logistics combined with the specific trends of migration that have been studied in depth went as far as to convince the ECJ to allow Malta the right to derogate for spring hunting.

The difference is that the FKNK has always lobbied and will continue to lobby for a strong political will to ensure that the rights of its members are safeguarded up to the limit allowed by the directives and possibly no less. This approach should be applauded and followed rather than criticised and ridiculed by persons who seem to retain a servile attitude to foreigners. Everyone would surely stand to gain.