Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/298224
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 APRIL 2014 15 TIM ATTARD MONTALTO THE League against Cruel Sports (LACS) were in town this week as part of a campaign to help in the promotion of the ban on spring hunting in Malta. The British NGO, renowned for its staunch opposition to the killing of animals, visited the island to gain a better understanding the hunting situation in Malta. It's been one of the most talked- about issues in Malta over the past few months and, for once, it has not been smothered in partisan politics. But that's not to say it's any less con- troversial. A petition calling for an abrogative referendum to ban spring hunting has amassed more than 44,000 signatures, a figure signifi- cantly higher than the 10% of Mal- tese voter-population needed. MaltaToday met up with the League's CEO Joe Duckworth and Bill Oddie, a wildlife expert and tele- vision personality accompanying the team, hours before their flight back to the UK. Oddie pulls no punches when be- littling the argument that hunting should be allowed on the basis of tra- dition. "It's nonsense. With the same reasoning, we can apply that to so many things. We might as well bring back witch-hunting, hanging and God knows what else… it is simply not an argument." He explains that there are good traditions, worth maintaining, and others which should be re-visited. "I'm afraid that this is one of the bad ones," he says. "At some stage in history, one has to judge what is no longer appropriate or wise and change it." Lamenting its effects on habitat de- struction, the pair describe hunting as an "incredibly cruel" activity. "The vast majority of hunters shoot birds simply for target practice," Duck- worth says. But why the particular interest in Malta? "We wanted to understand what was going on in Malta at first-hand," Oddie says. He admits to having had, in the past, "a sort of self-righteous, individual boycott" from visiting the country after hearing of the wide- spread hunting in the country. "I've discovered more and more over the years, though, that sometimes you really need to go and see for yourself exactly what the situation is. It's im- portant to understand what the con- flicting attitudes and existent pres- sures are," he says. "Malta is on the cusp of making a really important decision," Duck- worth chips in. "And it could be leading the way for so many other countries that need to adjust to this issue." He says that if Malta held a referendum on such a "totemic and significant wildlife issue", it would be a first around the world. "Malta is showing huge leadership to every country which slaughters animals in one way or another. It's about giving the silent majority the opportunity to express its opinion, as opposed to only listening to those who shout the loudest. It is revolu- tionary and serves as a fantastic ex- ample for the rest of the world." So how would they describe the situation in Malta, now that they've had a chance to see it first-hand? "I suppose it's what I expected and feared," Oddie says. "It was equally reassuring, though, to learn that hunting is not accepted by all, which is what the hunters here would have you believe." Duckworth explains how he was shocked at the widespread use of firearms in Malta, with the trip prov- ing to be one of "polar opposite ex- tremes" for him. While describing Malta as "welcoming, warm and beautiful… with fantastic and helpful people," Duckworth says that he was astounded at the number of hunters they came across during the trip. "There are shooting towers eve- rywhere," he says. "We'd make out many figures with guns sticking out, dotted across the countryside." It is pointed out to them that the situation in the United Kingdom is far from ideal, with fox and badger- hunting still practised in the country. They agree that the issue crosses na- tional boundaries. "We are quite sensitive to the accu- sation that we are some type of im- perialist bully," Duckworth tells me. "We're not here to tell the Maltese what to do or to preach holier than thou. Neither are we here to say that we're better than you. We're here to learn, support and share our experi- ences," he explains. "Birds, for instance, travel inter- nationally across many countries," he adds. "So from an ethical point of view, the situation in Malta is the same as the one in Britain." Oddie seconds this notion and says that certain types of ethics are universal. "Frankly, I'd like to see Britain hold a referendum on vari- ous issues such as this… if spring hunting had to be banned in Malta, by way of a referendum, I will abso- lutely use it as a precedent to urge British MPs to follow the same path," Oddie says, stressing that it would be 'tragic' if the result of the referendum had to be a nega- tive one. In an eventuality, however, whereby a referendum to ban spring hunting in Malta is defeated, would the two be discouraging their counterparts to come to Malta? "We will certainly not push for a tourist boycott to Malta," Duck- worth tells me. "We want to sup- port Malta and we certainly want more British people to visit the is- land. The fact is, though, that most people are uncomfortable around firearms." Oddie nods his head at this last statement. "A very large percent- age of people who visit Mediterra- nean islands, do so to see the birds. Wildlife tourism is massive all over the world and it's one of the big- gest growing tourist elements. The truth is, if people come to Malta, they certainly won't want to go out into the countryside and stumble across people with guns!" News 'Hunting referendum is revolutionary' ! ! ! "#$%"&&'()!(*!')+"%"&+!*(%!,(-.,!/(-.+'().,!"01-.+'()!.)0!+%.')')2!3/"+4!"#$"%+&!*(%! "&*!56578!9!:.;')2!/"+!"01-.+'()!:(%"!%","/.)+!.)0!.++%.-+'/"! 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Search for 'food champions' to start very soon JAMES DEBONO THE ministry for the environment is expected to issue a call for tenders for a robust educational and com- munications campaign on new waste practices that will focus on more waste separation at source, and ad- dress food waste. People are currently wasting €1 out of every €5 they spend on food. It is estimated that 21% of food bought ends up in bin. The waste of food is blamed on incorrect purchasing patterns and a lack of understanding of 'best by' and 'use by' labelling, as well as by incor- rect storage. Food waste is also gen- erated by overly estimating individu- al food portions. Lack of knowledge on food preparation and cooking and the automatic discarding of leftovers also contribute to food waste. But according to the new waste management plan, reducing this kind of waste also means a greater change in behavioural patterns, something already dictated by time constraints such as the tendency to buy in bulk to avoid multiple shopping trips. The Waste Management Plan envi- sions a nationwide educational cam- paign spearheaded by 'food cham- pions" – a reality TV show that will offer prize money to contestants who cut down on their food waste. The target of the campaign will be to increase the number of committed food reducers by 10% per annum. Following an expression of interest that generated a positive response from key players, the upcoming tendering process will prioritise the actual needs of the educational cam- paign. A ministry spokesperson refused to be drawn into more details about the whole process but explained that as a result of the ideas generated by the EOI, the ministry could now as- certain the degree of interest in such a project. Minister Leo Brincat said that such the campaign was "imperative", par- ticularly in the formative days of the strategy implementation. "Without behavioural change it will be difficult to get people to realise the impor- tance of strengthening waste separa- tion at source," he said. jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt Left to right: Lawrie Phipps, Bill Oddie and Joe Duckworth, League Against Cruel Sports Chief Executive