Mark Anthony Falzon is expected to replace Louis Cassar as chair of the Ornis Committee, which advises the Government on hunting and trapping regulations, sources told timesofmalta.com.

When contacted, Prof. Falzon confirmed he recently had a meeting with Parliamentary Secretary Roderick Galdes but said he had promised to keep the contents of the meeting secret until an official announcement is made.

The meeting was instigated by Mr Galdes, Prof. Falzon said.

He pointed out that there were inaccuracies in reports circulating on other news websites today.

Although he was a member of Birdlife until 1996 (when it was called the Malta Ornithological Society), he is no longer affiliated to the NGO, but enjoys a good relationship with it and is friends with many members.

He has also undertaken lots of anthropological fieldwork with hunters over the past five years.

Prof. Falzon was unceremoniously replaced as an Ornis member in March by the Government, prompting him to criticise the way this was handled in his weekly column in The Sunday Times of Malta.

He pointed out this morning that he had never “boasted of having written a strongly worded letter to the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat”, as reported on another local news website today.

“I never wrote such a letter. That claim is completely inaccurate,” he said.