There has been no movement by the government towards blocking the spring hunting referendum, according to the Coalition Against Spring Hunting.

Addressing a press conference on the final day of the spring hunting season, coalition spokesman Rudolph Ragonesi said he had no knowledge that the government was considering blocking the proposed referendum.

He was reacting to the hunting lobby's attempt to lobby parliamentarians to change the law and block the vote.

Dr Ragonesi said even if this was done, it would have to be in one with EU law. "If this happens we will address it. So far there has been no mention of this," he said, describing such a move as "very controversial".

Dr Ragonesi said he was still unclear on the Opposition's view on the vote, but he insisted the matter transcended party politics.

"We are not lobbying parties because we don't want this to become politicized. Asked if he thought there would be a difference in the outcome if the vote was held alone or tied to an election, Dr Ragonesi said it made more sense to combine the it with another issue.

Birdlife spokesman Christian Debono said the organization had handled several illegally shot birds in recent days. Among the illegally shot birds were several kestrels, black wing stilts and bee eaters.

The hunting season season closes today at 2pm, possibly for the last time.

(With reference to the video above, Mr Debono clarified that one of the shot Black Winged Stilts was injured and not killed. It is still at Salina. Not all the birds were shot during the open season)