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15 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 JANUARY 2023 NEWS Teachers' union does not approve of hunting exhibition but 'controversial themes cannot be ignored' LUKE VELLA THE Malta Union of Teachers clarified a statement issued on Saturday afternoon in which it had showed no aversion to an exhibition about hunting inside Gozitan schools, saying it does not approve of the Kaċċaturi San Uber- tu exhibition sponsored by the Gozo ministry. "The MUT is hereby issuing a clarification following the misinter- pretations of its position regarding the hunting exhibition. The MUT does not approve or back the hunting exhi- bition in schools. It has always condemned any killing of living species and its promotion in schools. The union has always supported the work carried out to con- serve nature and living species and urges educa- tors to pursue with their teaching in schools to show the real effects of hunting." Earlier in the day, the MUT also said it be- lieved that an exhibition of this sort would "never counteract all the posi- tive work carried out by educators and schools towards a culture of con- servation and respect for all living species. "The union believes that since only education can bring about positive changes, schools can- not ignore controversial themes such as hunt- ing. No static exhibition promoting hunting will influence students who are used to classroom discussions and prac- tices promoting respect towards nature and its conservation." The union invited ed- ucators and schools to continue to showcase the real effects of hunt- ing, whilst promoting the message towards the conservation of nature and respect of all liv- ing species. "The MUT believes that all organi- sations which work to- wards the conservation of nature should be giv- en the same platform by the Education Ministry to promote their work in schools," MUT con- cluded. LU KE VELLA KAĊĊATURI San Ubertu, the hunting fraternity that will be carrying out a hunting ex- hibition in all of Gozo's pri- mary schools, hit back at the Commissioner for Children's concern that this will be pro- moting the use of firearms amongst children, saying that children were indoctrinated by an anti-hunting agenda in school. In a statement yesterday, the hunting lobby said it was "per- plexed" by the words chosen by the commissioner, ques- tioning whether she should al- so condemn video games and films that expose children to firearms and violence. "Surely any Children's Com- missioner cannot deny the fact that education is the key to proper understanding and learning. Children should be educated on any subject mak- ing them aware of what is right and what is wrong and what is safe and what is not," Kaċċatu- ri San Ubertu said. It argued that Commission- er's office had an anti-hunt- ing position and that chil- dren were indoctrinated by a "BirdLife Malta syllabus" and an agenda against hunting. "Before declaring her ludi- crous assumptions, one would expect a person with such a re- sponsibility to check her facts before parroting an opinion. The exhibition is purely edu- cational and does not entice children to take up hunting." The lobby said that hunt- ing was a "totally lacking and prejudiced subject" in schools and that the exhibition would be educating children on the rights and the wrongs of this controversial hobby. "The culture and benefits [of hunting] being either cu- linary or the work of hunters towards the environment, are intentionally omitted in our children's education," the lob- by argued. It added that hunters should not be labelled as murderers by their children or told that hunting was wrong, because of what was taught in schools. "The Commissioner had better concentrate on the in- doctrination of our children against hunting in schools run by an organisation with a declared abolitionist agenda rather than worry about an in- formative exhibition that en- joys official acceptance which she obviously has not both- ered to inform herself about," Kaċċaturi San Ubertu con- cluded. Hunters say children's czar 'should be condemning violence in gaming and films' The Gozo ministry is financ- ing a roving exhibition by hunters' fraternity Kaccatu- ri San Ubertu in all primary schools on Gozo, in a con- troversial moved that has at- tracted the condemnation of conservationists. BirdLife Malta CEO Mark Sul- tana said the exhibition was "unethical" because it pro- moted the killing of birds, as well as the use of a firearm, to primary-age school-chil- dren. MaltaToday is informed that all primary schools in Gozo were informed in writ- ing by the director-general for heads of colleges, that the exhibition was being fi- nanced by the Gozo ministry. "The project's aim is to show the facts about legal hunt- ing in Malta... information leaflets will be given out to students who will be able to ask their questions by send- ing an email to Kaccaturi San Ubertu." The circular was sent to all heads of school, who are in- vited to inform the associa- tion as to whether they would like to host the exhibition. The exhibition will include the distribution of leaflets, two roll-up banners and two free-standing posters. The exhibition can be set up in a small space, with the associ- ation saying it is preferable that this space is at the en- trance to the school. "It is disgusting," Sultana told MaltaToday in a reac- tion. "We're alarmed at the fact that this has the bless- ing of the Education Depart- ment – they are promoting the killing of birds, with the use of a firearm to boot, at a time when in 2023 the EU is doing all it can to reduce the exploitation of natural resources, while we promote the opportunity to kills birds with young children. Even the promotion of the use of firearms in this case makes absolutely no sense in an ed- ucational context." Sultana said he filed a com- plain with education minister Clifton Grima to ask whether this exhibition had the bless- ing of the ministry. "I hope it is not, so as to stop such an unethical exhibition." The Office of the Commis- sioner for Children said it was concerned that hunting exhi- bitions in schools may inad- vertently promote the use of firearms among school-aged children. "Parents have every right to pass their pastime onto their children however, this should be done in a safe and age-appropriate manner," the Commissioner said. "It needs to be done in a controlled setting that pro- vides context and guidance and which ensures that chil- dren only engage in hunting when they come of age." Hunting exhibition financed by Gozo ministry for schools causes outrage, BirdLife protests