The Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting this afternoon welcomed the clarification by the prime minister that it would not be possible or appropriate for the government to stand in the way of the referendum.

Coalition spokesperson Rudolph Ragonesi, said it was very positive to learn that the prime minister was not allowing the pressure from the FKNK to affect his judgement regarding the people’s right to call for a referendum on the matter of spring hunting.

Members of the coalition carry petitions calling for the hunting referendum.

"The coalition has also noted growing pressure on different political parties to make it clear where they stand on the future of spring hunting," Dr Ragonesi continued.

“The position of the political parties on the future of spring hunting is not an issue. The referendum process puts the future of spring hunting in Malta in the hands of the people and they should be allowed to decide based on the arguments made by those in favour of abolition and those that wish to see it continue. This is not a partisan issue and should therefore not be reduced to one.”

Urging politicians to resist using the referendum and spring hunting as a political football, Dr Ragonesi urged all those in the political arena to treat the referendum process as an essential part of the democratic structures and allow people to decide the issue accordingly.