Tolga Temuge, executive director of BirdLife Malta tried to discredit what St Hubert Hunters stated in their letter BirdLife's Credibility At Stake (April 8) by means of a lengthy exercise feebly trying to exonerate Andrew Raine of any possible involvement in the signing of a Malta hunting ban petition. This petition, the brainchild of David Conlin (Proact) was initiated in 2006, indeed before Dr Raine's employment, but is still active to this very date, so the possibility of his having signed it is still there, especially when considering a signature by that name is one of the latest on the list.

As For Mr Temuge's reference to my spending quite some time browsing the internet, indeed such activity proves to be very useful. To begin with, BirdLife's Andre is referred to as Andrew in his native Bermuda. A look at the The Royal Gazette (Bermuda) of January 25 2008 ( http://www.theroyalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d81cb730030002 ) will easily solve Mr Temuge's concern. "Ornithologist Dr Andrew Raine, of St George's, is at the forefront of the fight against the illegal hunting of birds on Malta". Also, as for his reference to Facebook, one does indeed find mention of people named Andrew Raine but what really caught my eye is the fact that Mr Conlin, the person that originated the Malta Hunting Ban, happens to be listed under Dr Andre Raine's list of Facebook friends. Indeed more than just a mere coincidence.

As for my time spent browsing, another interesting fact has come to light. It is a known fact that BirdLife International and the EU body for hunting, FACE, signed an agreement as part of the European Commission's Sustainable Hunting Initiative. This specifically states:

"Both organisations support the establishment of the Natura 2000 Network and recognise the importance of effective habitat protection and active management for biodiversity conservation.

"Both organisations stress that in principle Natura 2000 designation is not incompatible with hunting. They acknowledge that properly managed hunting inside Natura 2000 sites can continue or take place so long as it is compatible with the site's conservation objectives."

So how does Mr Temuge explain his signature and that of Dr Raine being on the list of those petitioning for a total ban on hunting in the Natura 2000 site of il-Majjistral (Tolga Temuge as no. 1106, Dr Raine as no. 828) http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/Majjistral/index.html ). Unless of course Mr Temuge can explain that there are many other people bearing their same names, I believe these actions go against their organisation's agreements.

Mr Temuge in his letter took the time and trouble to justify Dr Raine's existence in Birdlife Malta. Indeed his qualifications could seem impressive but they in no way qualify him as an expert on Maltese ornithology. His several inaccuracies, which above all include the myth of Malta being on the main central Mediterranean migratory flyway, have been disproved by all other reputable ornithologists. Yet this statement serves the purpose of portraying Malta as being crucial in terms of bird migration. The reason for his doing so are obvious. Reaching such important conclusions is quite an ambitious achievement especially considering Dr Raine has been in Malta for only three years.

As for his accusing me of a lack of knowledge in conservation science, which according to Mr Temuge makes me the last person to talk about credibility, Mr Temuge might wish to state his credentials in conservation science, or any other related to ornithology, that make him worthy of occupying the post of executive director of BirdLife Malta. I fail to connect the involvement of a Greenpeace activist with matters related to the observation of birds.

Editorial note: BirdLife Malta said they had found no evidence of Andrè Raine having signed the petition.