Hunting is a privilege and not a right – the right was one which belonged to the Maltese and enabled them to freely enjoy the environment, Spring Hunting Out (Shout) spokesman Saviour Balzan said earlier this afternoon.

In a debate on spring hunting held at Mcast, Mr Balzan said that the countryside “belonged to us all”. People wishing to enjoy the countryside in spring were met with illegal hunting hides, threats, aggression and being shoed-off.

The 41,000 Maltese people who signed to force the referendum have decided to change the way we view the Maltese countryside.

“Yes, Malta is unique and let me tell you why – it is the country which has the greatest proportion of hunters, is the most densely populated and has the smallest stretches of countryside. Yet [the spring hunting lobby] wants us to keep to medieval yardsticks.”

Representing the hunting lobby, Mark Bonello said  EU member states, applied some 5,000 derogations between themselves.

The hunters were only asking for 20 mornings where they could hunt turtle doves and quail on a restricted quota.

People were free to enjoy the countryside in the afternoons and Malta had 32 natural reserves people could opt to go to, Mr Bonello said.

The two sides launched into various comparisons with foreign countries and the debate became particularly heated when Mr Bonello said that in the six-year-old children could hunt in the UK.

Mr Balzan retorted that he would therefore take his daughter to the UK, buy her a shotgun and allow her to fire away, if that was truly so. The comment sparked laughter among the students present.