The hunters’ federation, FKNK, has embraced shooter William Chetcuti as one of their own, congratulating him for securing a place in the 2012 Olympics by winning a gold medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Beijing.
The FKNK said he made every Maltese and Gozitan proud, achieving a “great honour”.
FKNK said Mr Chetcuti was also a hunter and was in fact practising his hobby just before leaving for China, “hoping to bag his first turtle dove or quail for four years in the spring hunting season”.
The federation wished William luck in his hunting ventures once he returns to Malta before the close of the season.
The FKNK also hit out at BirdLife Malta’s recent claim that hunters were either underreporting their kills or must be really poor shots, saying Birdlife surely did not have Mr Chetcuti in mind.
Meanwhile, the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party also issued statements to congratulate Mr Chetcuti’s historic achievement.