I refer to the outgoing German Ambassador’s personal views on hunting (The Sunday Times, March 3). I augur Hubert Ziegler a long and happy retirement.

I also augur that his successor will not allow any childhood experience, as well as lack of knowledge and prejudice about hunting matters, to cloud his vision and judgment as Germany’s Ambassador to Malta. Cruelty is part and parcel of the natural world, and affects birds as much as it affects other creatures. By contrast, a successful hunt brings a swift death to its quarry, and even if death is not instantaneous, it follows immediately after, because the hunter’s code requires immediate dispatch of wounded game.

As in other disciplines, hunting-related illegalities take place in every country where hunting is practised, not only in Malta. The European Conference on Illegal Killing of Birds held in Cyprus in July 2011 reported that: “Illegal activities against birds, such as poisoning, illegal trade, illegal killing of predators and illegal trapping are widespread and have important conservation impact”.

The countries referred to include France, Italy, Finland, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Czech Republic, to mention just a few. In Germany “the main issue is the illegal trapping, poisoning and shooting of all species of predators: all birds of prey, all corvids and recently cormorants. Another increasing problem is the shooting of protected wild geese species.” Additionally, the “most important issue for the United Kingdom is the illegal shooting, poisoning and trapping of raptors.”

This is proof that many more hunting-related illegalities take place in other countries than in Malta. By the same yardstick, all guide books to these countries should also contain a passage on ‘bird killing’ to discourage potential tourists from visiting.

That Malta is the only country to suffer this indignity is purely the work of Birdlife Malta and its foreign cronies, foremost among them the Komittee gegen den Vogelmord, a.k.a. CABS. These anti-hunting extremists have exaggerated and highlighted the few hunting-related illegalities that take place in Malta in order to continue raising the finances they need from a sympathetic German public.

The statement: “All those birds that are being killed in spring in southern Europe will be missed in central and northern Europe” is erroneous, because, for example, in autumn in the countries of central and northern Europe, between two and three million turtle doves are shot. Therefore, having removed such a prodigious amount from the reproductive cycle, these countries will certainly not miss a few thousands shot legally in Malta in spring.

Regarding protest emails “which the German Embassy regularly receives from people”, we hope that the new German Ambassador will reply to these emails, informing the senders that Malta has one of the shortest hunting seasons in Europe; since hunting usually takes place very early in the morning, it is unlikely to disturb tourists; it is a fact that tourists visiting the Maltese countryside go back with beautiful memories; large areas of Malta, where shooting is not allowed, are open for rambling, walking etc.; and that things are not as bad as depicted by the prejudiced media.

We trust, too, that the new German Ambassador will not entertain a purely theoretical Isaiah-type version of the natural world, but will adopt a more realistic approach, taking into account the Maltese reality without succumbing to the malicious propaganda dished out regularly by the anti-hunting bigots.