The Federation for Hunting and Conservation – Malta (FKNK) has accused CABS – the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, of having issued an unfounded and grossly misleading statement on Saturday claiming that hundreds of birds had been killed in a matter of hours.
In a letter to the Police Commissioner, the federation asked the police to investigate the CABS claim.
The Office of the Prime Minister last week also asked the police to investigate the claim.
"The facts as stated by these persons are unfounded and untruthful and have been so presented intentionally and maliciously in the hope that if sufficient reaction is provoked, then these persons would have obtained their declared intention to obtain an unjustified early closure of the autumn hunting season whilst at the same time justifying their presence and remuneration in Malta, bringing also their report to the attention of the European Commission precisely at a stage when the legal proceedings instituted by the European Commission against Malta in regard to hunting are still pending," the FKNK complained.
They asked the Police Commissioner to note that:
"The very same Statement issued by CABS identifies a maximum of nine birds observed as having been shot. The rest (that is the difference between these nine and the “hundreds” mentioned) are explained only in expressions of conjecture and presumption unsubstantiated by any objective of credible facts.
"At the same time, on a period of six days and not of a few hours, Bird Life Malta reported that twelve birds were brought to its attention."
The FKNK said the CABS team came to Malta to carry out their task equipped with sophisticated equipment that was more than adequate for their task and therefore they were in a highly ideal position to obtain clear evidence of what they were alleging. Their website, they said, presented in a prominent manner a video clip of an alleged Maltese hunter picking up a protected bird. It was neither credible not likely that having presented one instance of illegal hunting in such detail, they were unable to produce in similar fashion clear evidence of the “hundreds of protected birds of prey shot by Maltese hunters”.
It had been observed both by non hunters and by a number of officials that even with the extraordinary presence of birds of prey brought to Malta by the unforeseen vagaries ,only a few isolated incidents of illegal hunting were reported, the FKNK said.
"As you are well aware FKNK whilst defending and promoting the rights and position of its members, has always condemned any illegal hunting and has always made it clear that none of its members found guilty of such practice will find any comfort within its ranks. For the FKNK even if only nine or twelve birds of prey find themselves as the target of irresponsible hunters, they are nine and twelve too many and this is therefore unacceptable. Similarly unacceptable however is the abuse of these members of the CABS team who after having been given maximum assistance by the Maltese authorities have chosen to intentionally present false and misleading facts both to the Maltese public and abroad.”