The Nationalist Party believes spring hunting should be retained as long as the season lasts “a short time” and is “strictly controlled”, leader Simon Busuttil said yesterday .
Fielding questions by Times of Malta, Dr Busuttil said the PN’s position was made clear during the past few years when the party worked hard with the EU authorities to retain spring hunting, including fighting a case in the European Court of Justice.
Referring to the Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting’s campaign to call for a referendum on the issue, Dr Busuttil said: “We have to see where this petition will lead... if the referendum is called, then the PN would need to address that reality and take a decision.”
A coalition spokesman told Times of Malta that, while he could not give out exact figures, the petition was “gathering pace” and was registering “increased interest”.
The coalition is made up of: Ramblers Association of Malta, Nature Trust, Moviment Graffiti, International Animal Rescue Malta, Greenhouse Malta, Gaia Foundation, Friends of the Earth Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Coalition for Animal Rights, Birdlife Malta and Alternattiva Demokratika.
The campaign to collect petition signatures was formally launched a month ago. For the referendum to be held, the coalition has to collect the signatures of 10 per cent of eligible voters – more than 34,000 people.
When the signatures are amassed, the coalition would present the petition to the Electoral Commission, which has 15 working days to vet and authenticate the signatories.
The petition would be subsequently presented to the constitutional court where opponents of the referendum have three months to register objections.
The court would then have two months to make its decision.
All eligible voters may sign the petition but it cannot be signed online.
Copies of the petition are available from cashmalta2013@gmail.com or from any coalition member.
‘Draw up job creation plan’
Nationalist leader Simon Busuttil has reiterated his call for the Government to draw up a plan on job creation, saying there was no mention of it in the pre-Budget document.
Such a plan was crucial to advance the economy, he said, and hoped it would be incorporated within the forthcoming Budget.
Dr Busuttil was speaking after visiting a number of family businesses along the Mrieħel bypass as part of the Independence Day activities.
He was accompanied by the Opposition’s spokesman for planning Ryan Callus, spokeswoman for competitiveness and economic growth Kristy Debono and MEP candidate Stefano Mallia.
Dr Busuttil added that the island’s economy was built on family businesses and a job creation plan was crucial for it to advance.
Although the PN had offered to cooperate with the Government on this issue, Dr Busuttil continued, the offer had not been taken up.