A hunter’s organisation, St Hubert Hunters, believes that Mr Justice Michael Mallia’s argument that all forms of blood sport, including hunting, should be banned is “ludicrous”, given that the judge is a former hunter himself.
The call was made on Wednesday in a judgment on animal cruelty in which a nine-month jail term given to watchman Joseph Galea for dumping a dog in a skip was confirmed on appeal. In his judgment, Mr Justice Mallia said that, while he did not want to be misunderstood that animals should never be killed, it had to be within reason for the survival and health of humans and done in a controlled manner.
Thankfully, he added, in Malta people had an adequate supply of food and, therefore, there was no need to kill wildlife for sustenance.
Those who did kill wildlife did so for their own emotional satisfaction or the thrill they had at the moment the animal was killed, he said, adding that this sort of emotional satisfaction belonged to the troglodyte era.
“Perhaps, one day, we’ll realise what we’re doing and pluck up the courage to once and for all stop all forms of blood sport,” the judge said.
The president of St Hubert Hunters, Mark Mifsud Bonnici, said that the judge’s argument was ludicrous, given that he was a hunter himself prior to becoming a judge.
“He was actually a member of our organisation and was involved in the board of discipline for a time.
“This is an opinion that he shouldn’t have expressed. There is no comparison between a suffocated dog dumped in a skip and hunting or fishing.”
He said there were laws carefully drafted by Europe to regulate hunting, adding that hunting wasn’t considered as animal cruelty in the eyes of the law.
“Hunting protected species is wrong. Europe carries out scientific studies to outline which species can endure being hunted and which can’t.”
Mr Mifsud Bonnici conceded that hunting was indeed a primitive instinct but insisted that the pleasure was not in the killing act but in the entire process. Three-quarters of the hunters consumed the birds, he pointed out. “If a hunter had to appear before Mr Justice Mallia, how can we be assured that he will judge us in an impartial way?”
When Birdlife Malta was asked whether they agreed with a ban on hunting, executive director Steve Micklewright said the NGO did not call for a complete ban.
“We don’t oppose all hunting. We believe spring hunting should be stopped for conservation reasons, to preserve the species for future generations.
“We understand where Mr Justice Mallia is coming from but we don’t call for a complete ban on hunting.”
The Federation for Huntingand Conservation (FKNK) refused to comment.