The Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting has surpassed the threshold of petitions needed to force the holding of a referendum, with some 35,000 signatures having now been collected.

A source close to the Coalition said that the signatures were being vetted to check their validity.

For the abrogative referendum to be held, 10 per cent of Maltese voters need to sign the petition – which amounts to 33,418 signatures as stipulated by law.

“We are now checking all the information submitted to ensure it is correct and valid, and that there are no double signatures – and we still might need a few more,” said the source, adding that a target of 40,000 signatures would be ideal to ensure that the process goes through.

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