The hunters’ federation has praised Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi’s declaration that he would be prepared to go back to the European Court of Justice to defend Malta on the issue of spring hunting.
“(We) would like to applaud the Prime Minister for his determined statement in standing up in defence of the rights of Maltese citizens particularly with regard to previous declarations by the Commission concerning the local framework legislation put in place by the government for the opening of a limited spring-hunting season,” the FKNK said.
On Friday, Dr Gonzi said the government would be ready to face another court battle if needs be, after the Commission on Wednesday demanded that the government change the framework legislation on spring hunting introduced in April or face further legal action. Brussels says Malta would be going too far if it allowed a three-week season and a bag limit of 25,000 turtle doves and quails, as envisaged.
Dr Gonzi maintains that this limited season would be legal and in line with the September 2009 European court decision, which, while ruling that Malta breached the EU’s Birds Directive in having permitted a full-blown spring hunting season, recognised that hunting in autumn was not a sufficient alternative to spring.
The FKNK said that, while it understood the pressures on the Commission by the anti-hunting lobby, it expected the government to be “pragmatic and sensible in taking any final decisions that have to respect the rights of each and every European citizen, not least us. This particularly in the light of the judgment...”
The issue, it said, had become a “sore thumb” for all parties concerned and everyone wanted a realistic conclusion to the saga. The only victims of the “unnecessary” debate were the “serious and legal hunters and trappers”.
The federation reminded the government that prior to Malta’s accession to the EU, they had been told that hunting and trapping would continue unabated “and with no word of negation of these facts by the Commission itself, at the time”.