Many were baffled how Shaun Demicoli, the poacher found guilty of killing a protected bird, was allowed to possess a gun despite facing charges of attempted murder.

The man was accused in March last year of the attempted murder of a Tunisian who was found in a pool of blood at Pretty Bay, Birżebbuġa.

But serious as the alleged crime may be, Mr Demicoli has not yet been sentenced and it is only a conviction that will lead to the automatic withdrawal of a gun licence.

However, the Police Commissioner does have discretionary power, which people in the hunting lobby are urging him to use.

Unlike target practice and gun collections, hunting is not regulated by the Arms Act. The conditions for obtaining a hunting licence are laid out in the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations, which make reference to the Code of Police Laws.

The incident has cast a spotlight on the discrepancy between gun regulations and hunting

Police sources told Times of Malta conviction implied that a case had run its full course, including the appeals stage.

This is why a court decision in October 2013, which found Mr Demicoli guilty of punching a police officer who booked him for parking in a spot reserved for the disabled, had no bearing on his ability to hold a gun licence.

The guilty verdict for using violence would have barred him from obtaining a licence but Mr Demicoli had appealed and the case is still pending.

Still, the law gives the Police Commissioner the right to withhold a hunting licence to anyone who, in his opinion, is not “of good character or a fit person to handle a gun or other firearm without danger”.

Hunting federation president Joe Perici Calascione believes that when cases are of a serious nature, such as a charge of attempted murder, the Police Commissioner should exercise the precautionary principle.

Poacher Shaun Demicoli arriving at court on Thursday. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

“When Malta was battling its case for spring hunting in front of the European Court of Justice the season was not opened as a precautionary measure until the case was settled. The same principle should apply for withdrawing hunting licences to anyone accused of a serious crime,” Mr Perici Calascione said.

It is a position St Hubert Hunters president, Mark Mifsud Bonnici, agrees with.

Even if a hunter had not yet been convicted of a serious crime, the fact that he was charged should be reason enough for the Police Commissioner to use his powers, Mr Mifsud Bonnici said.

Questions sent to the police were not answered at the time of writing.

The incident has cast a spotlight on the discrepancy between gun regulations and hunting.

Stephen Petroni, president of the Association of Maltese Arms Collectors and Shooters, said the Arms Act of 2005 set a three-tier system of control that included a weapons course. However, when the law was enacted, hunting was excluded and, instead, fell under the Conservation of Wild Birds Regulations, he said.

“It is my impression that the course requested to obtain a hunting licence is more inclined towards bird recognition than the safe handling of weapons,” Mr Petroni said.

To obtain a hunting licence, an applicant has to have third party insurance and be a member of a recognised hunting club.

There are four hunting organisations. The hunting federation, FKNK, and St Hubert Hunters have both said Mr Demicoli was not a member.

None of the other two organisations – the Association for Sport Hunting and Trapping and Moviment Kaċċaturi, Nassaba u Ambjentalisti – have yet come forward to say whether the poacher is their member and, if so, whether they will expel him.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com