Having been an avid campaigner to clinch the derogation allowing “controlled and limited” hunting in spring, the Opposition leader said he would remain consistent and vote to keep this privilege.
“I am not a hunter and I love animals and the environment, but I personally worked for and defended the derogation for limited and sustainable spring hunting, both within my party and in the EU, and I have to be consistent,” Simon Busuttil told a press conference yesterday.
While insisting voters had a right to know where their leader stood on this subject, he encouraged Nationalist MPs to vote freely according to their beliefs in the spring hunting referendum on April 11.
Whoever knows me will appreciate this is the only decision I could reach as I’m consistent
His personal stand is identical to the one adopted by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, but that was where the similarities ended, according to Dr Busuttil. “In the referendum I will be voting in favour of the derogation we ourselves negotiated. I have remained consistent throughout, unlike Dr Muscat who is an opportunist who incited people against us and the EU. This is honest politics,” he said.
Dr Busuttil denied he had adopted this stance out of political convenience to avoid the risk of another defeat at the polls or that surveys were indicating the hunting lobby would win.
“I believe surveys can go either way and it is still too early to interpret the result. It all depends on the positions the political parties take. The PN will not be campaigning and I hope the Labour Party will be keeping its word and doing the same thing,” he said.
The PN, which welcomed the abrogative referendum as the highest form of democratic expression, took its decision after days of intense discussions within the party structures and its grassroots.
Asked if his position would alienate some of the party’s core voters who were against hunting, Dr Busuttil said: “Whoever knows me will appreciate this is the only decision I could reach as I’m consistent and will not go back on my word”.
He added that the PN would never tolerate illegalities and nobody would find shelter within the party’s folds.
Dr Busuttil was keen to stress that before the 2003 referendum, as head of the Malta-EU Information Centre, he had personally worked for, and defended, the concession for limited and sustainable spring hunting, both within the Nationalist Party and within the EU.
When the matter had landed before the European Court of Justice, it had left a window of opportunity open for hunters to shoot in spring, because based on the statistics presented in the case, the autumn season did not really offer an alternative to spring.
The court had also said the conditions on which Malta authorised spring hunting before the judgment did not fulfil all the requirements set in the Birds Directive.
Following the ruling, the PN government had amended the law to allow short spring hunting seasons according to the court ruling.
After the change in government in 2013, Labour continued to adopt the same position as that adopted by the PN administration.
“We negotiated the derogation because we believe everyone should have the possibility to practise their pastime as long as they do not break the law and respect the environment,” the PN leader said.
Dr Busuttil said the PN in government had succeeded in striking a just balance and the issue of holding a referendum had only been raised because the Prime Minister had disrupted the balance by making “opportunistic” promises before the last general election.
“This led hunters to believe that when Labour was voted into government they were empowered to do what they wanted. The government destroyed the Administrative Law Enforcement Unit, leading to abuse.” Insisting that 16-year-olds who could vote in local council elections should have this right extended to the referendum, Dr Busuttil insisted politicians should now step back and allow the people to decide freely.
“The PN is encouraging people to go out and vote and exercise their civic right. The PN will respect the referendum result now and when in government.”