Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/294639
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 APRIL 2014 3 News JURGEN BALZAN THE Coalition Against Spring Hunting will be holding a meeting with the Electoral Commission next week and demand that the time- frames for the spring hunting refer- endum are kept. This week, the President of the Republic approved the Electoral Commission's request to extend the time needed to verify the 44,000 sig- natures collected by the Coalition Against Spring Hunting (CASH) by three months. CASH spokesperson Steve Mick- lewright told MaltaToday that the extension should not derail the coa- lition's plans to hold the referendum in March 2015. "We'll be meeting the Electoral Commission next week and we'll ask for guarantees that everything is on schedule. We're keen to keep the process going and ensure that the referendum coincides with the local council elections scheduled for March 2015," Micklewright said. The Electoral Commission was granted the three-month extension after realising that it would be hu- manly impossible to meet the 15- day deadline imposed by law, which expired yesterday. The coalition, made up of 11 or- ganisations including BirdLife Malta and Alternattiva Demokratika, col- lected enough signatures needed to call for a referendum. The Law holds that a petition call- ing for a referendum to abrogate a law has to be signed by 10% of all eligible voters, equating to around 34,000 signatures. Speaking to MaltaToday, Alter- nattiva Demokratika deputy chair- person Carmel Cacopardo said the coalition only got to know about the extension this week, confirming that a meeting with the commission will be held next week. "Although we were never told that the commission would request an extension, it was evident that they were scratching their heads over the verification process given the European Parliament election com- mitments and the lack of staff," Ca- copardo said. While noting that the coalition will demand access to the verification process, which includes the ardu- ous task of comparing the signatures to the ID card database, Cacopardo said that the coalition would be in- sisting that timelines are respected. Once the verification process is complete, opponents can challenge the referendum request over proce- dural matters. Hunters' federation CEO Lino Farrugia this week warned that an abrogative referendum on spring hunting would set a dangerous prec- edent for "all minorities." Federazzjoni Kaccaturi Nassaba u Konservazzjonisti (FKNK) president Joe Perici Calascione even expressed his confidence that the proposed referendum would not be approved, and called on MPs to "ignore" the 40,000 signatures collected by CASH. "Referendums should only be al- lowed when they regard national issues and not matters which only concern minorities… We warned that this was a dangerous precedent. What's next? Civil unions, fire- works?" Spring hunting season opens The spring hunting season official- ly opened yesterday, with BirdLife monitoring teams in the countryside claiming that teams on their watch points were greeted with the sound of gunfire. This year's spring hunting sea- son in Malta is open from the 12 to 30 April, both days included. The BirdLife Spring Watch team has been active from the 9 April. "This was the morning we were all dreading," BirdLife stated yesterday on its blog. "The legal hunting has begun, however only two species are hunt- able: the Turtle Dove and the Quail. "The one thing none of us want to witness is the illegal hunting of any protected bird species. And even just after the first session this morn- ing, we are already seeing protected bird species with gunshot injuries." BirdLife posted posted photos of three Night Herons seen flying over Ghadira Bay one with a dangling leg, an injury from a gun shot. In the Wardija area, a Marsh Har- rier was spotted circling high above with an injury to the left wing, an- other injury from a gun shot. "In Gozo the gunfire was having a bigger impact. A Cuckoo was ille- gally shot and killed. The Cuckoo is a rare breeder in Malta, with the last chick being recorded in 2009, how- ever this may not be the case if these birds were not targeted," BirdLife said. "Our teams also heard instances of modified shotguns and electronic lures being used, both of which are illegal activities. Let's see what else tomorrow brings." Despite delay in vetting process, spring hunting coalition aims to hold referendum in March 2015 Coalition targeting March 2015 spring hunting referendum Hunters' federation CEO Lino Farrugia and BirdLife director Steve Micklewright - the hunters lobby claims an abrogative referendum against spring hunting will not be successful Night Heron with injury to leg