Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/487054
maltatoday, Sunday, 29 March 2015 24 Letters Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-rihan, San Gwann SGn 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. no pen names are accepted. The case against hunting A right we should not give up A disaster called Gozo "No humane being, past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly kill any creature which holds its life by the same tenure that he does." The author of this remark was Henry David Thoreau (1817-62), one of many writers who plead for the humane treatment of animals. Other writers, including Lord Byron and Michel de Montaigne spoke out against the killing of animals for sport. In 1845, Thoreau built a cabin at Walden Pond, near Concord, Mas- sachusetts. He lived there on his own for two years, and his experi- ence in self-sufficiency was later eloquently described in Walden, his major work. Before Thoreau went to Walden Pond, he did hunt while study- ing "new and rare birds" until he decided that it was of more value to study their habits rather than to kill them. Hunting, observed Thoreau, is a phase that the individual passes through, similar to "the thoughtless age of boyhood", which gives way to maturity and more responsible behaviour. George Gordon, Lord Byron (1788-1824) had a genuine love for animals. He maintained that ani- mals were not merely brute crea- tures but sentient beings worthy of his concern and consideration. Although Byron participated in some sports, he condemned many others, including all those that tormented, wounded or destroyed animals. He castigated the clergy for their foxhunting, and he refused to par- ticipate in live target shooting when practising marksmanship with Italian revolutionaries. In his essay "Of cruelty", Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) wrote that those who mistreat animals are more likely to ill-treat their fellow men. "I cannot without grief see so much as an innocent beast pursued and killed that has no defence, and from which we have received no offence at all. "The stag we hunt, finding himself weak and out of breath and seeing no other remedy, surrenders himself to us who pursue him, imploring mercy by his tears. "Those natures that are sangui- nary towards beasts discover a natural propensity to cruelty." Recalling Montaigne, William James (1842-1910) wrote in his Principles of Psychology: "The hunting and the fighting instincts combine in many manifestations. They both support the emotion of anger; they combine in the fascina- tion which stories of atrocity have for most minds. "The utterly blind excitement of giving free rein to our fury when our blood is up is only explicable as an impulse that is aboriginal in character." In a television documentary, Anthony Burgess, author of Clock- work Orange, said: "Evil, in our age, is violence: it's destruction for its own sake – the impairing of other living organisms for the sheer joy of seeing them destroyed." John Guillaumier St Julian's Allow me to put forward my last arguments why voters should vote 'Yes' in the referen- dum on April 11. 1. Hunting is not like any other pastime or hobby. It cannot be practised at anytime one chooses throughout the whole year. Nowadays it is an extremely regulated pas- time and the penalties one faces if regula- tions are disobeyed, are very harsh indeed! 2. Those who base their argument on acts of illegal hunting, as SHout are doing, should be reminded that no one would even think of prohibiting the use of knives just because there are individuals who abuse knives and use them as a weapon to kill humans, not birds. Or ban cars from our roads just because there are drivers who abuse driving regulations and end up kill- ing people, not birds! 3. This referendum is actually not about spring hunting as such, but about Malta's right to use a derogation so that the Mal- tese government will retain the right to decide whether or not to open the hunting season in spring. Or close the season if necessary. This is one of the few rights which the Maltese government, irrespective whether it is a PL or PN one, still has. Do we want to also give this right to the EU to decide? Those who will be voting No will be saying that they do not want their own representa- tives in parliament to decide, but are willing to let foreign bureaucrats to decide for us! This is why I will be voting Yes even though I am not a hunter. And because I strongly believe that the pastimes of minori- ties should be protected by the majority, not denied. Eddy Privitera Mosta I have been inspired by our newly appointed archbishop, who publicly announced that he is pro-life and therefore will be voting 'No' to spring hunting. It was enlightening to see him releasing white doves as a posi- tive sign of peace and goodwill. Thank God that the hunting season is closed, because I bet that those doves would not have made it safely home. I speak from experience; this happened to me several times without my knowledge when on 4 October students in schools release doves to commemorate animal awareness day. We have been witnessing hunt- ers returning from Ethiopia and others donating blood, all very commendable acts, although I have always been taught not to brag about good deeds. It just irks me that we never heard of such things before, so why exactly now? Or why should a person give a mention of this "hobby" while engaging in such noble deeds. I am sorry, but I do not buy it. I know that this is just another mask they are donning to try and deceive that theirs is a noble hobby. On the other hand I augur that the No campaign wins the day so that these noble gentlemen will have more time and money on their hands to engage in noble practices and learn how much more reward- ing it is when one contributes positively towards life as against the killing of the innocent and protected. Rita Brincat Via email Marthese Attard felt the need to respond to me by saying that infrastructural works being carried out during these last months at Independence and Sabina squares are the sole responsibility of the Victoria Local Council. First of all I did not even men- tion the Gozo Ministry. I feared I might wake them up. Secondly in the past the Transport Min- istry did intervene on works be- ing carried out by several other local councils in Malta. So why not this time? One does not tackle prob- lems by sitting on one's behind all day in a heated office. You have to go out and tackle the problem head on. The fact that Marthese Attard did not refute anything I said, is proof that everything I said was true! Not only is Gozo a complete disas- ter but a complete disgrace! On Monday two weeks ago, some road works were started on Marsalforn Road and on the road that from St Ursola Street goes towards Zebbug, clos- ing them both. With Republic Street still closed for almost a year, all traffic heading west is being directed towards St Fran- cis Square and on to Vajringa Street, thus creating a huge traffic gridlock and hundreds of people complained that it took them more than 45 minutes to drive less than two kilometres, emptying a tank full of petrol in the process. The question I have for the Transport Ministry is this. Did you ever think about doing the works during the night? Or working on one side of the road so traffic, even though slowly, can still pass through? Of course not! The problem is, you do not learn from past mistakes. This banana republic has too many people who have too many important sounding titles but are not worth two cents! Obviously I do not expect Marthese Attard to respond to me again. I'm sure she'll be too embarrassed to do so. People of Gozo and Malta too, I just hope you enjoy your rides in Gozo. J. Buttigieg Xewkija The possibility of low cost airlines like Ryanair flying to Malta is welcome news for the consumer. It is a boost to our tourist industry. Travel to and from Malta has tra- ditionally been dominated by our national airline Air Malta which to date has the lion's share of the business. Air Malta has run frequent services to many of the major capitals in Europe especially to destina- tions sending tourists to our shores. It has operated as a monopoly service, protected from the winds of competition. The arrival of Ryanair risks blowing it all up. In the wake of these developments it is understandable that there is a mixed reac- tion verging from the enthusiasm of the consumer to the cautious response from Air Malta. The economic and social impact of such developments must be studied. The ques- tion which needs addressing is certainly whether the arrival of low cost airlines will adversely affect Air Malta. At stake is the survival of Air Malta as a result of the introduction of free and open trade follow- ing the dismantling of the monopoly. The controversy takes on pregnant meaning now that we are members of the European Union. The arrival of low cost airlines will be beneficial for a number of reasons. It will lead to more persons choos- ing Malta as a destination since the marketing tools of branded carriers will be put to use to promote Malta. The new operators are most likely to open up new travel packages like short weekend breaks to Malta, an ever growing lifestyle pattern. The cost to fly to Malta is likely, with increased competition, to decrease. This should increase demand. Increases in arrival numbers which the country can easily absorb in the winter months, is most likely to give a big boost to our tourism industry. This is of particu- lar importance since tourism is widely believed to be the quickest way to kickstart our economy. The multiplier effect of tourism is likely to leave more disposable income in people's pockets. This is essential if spending and consequent growth is to be achieved. Air Malta's preoccupation to being exposed to competition is understand- able. Regrettably a lot of time dedicated to preparing for membership once Malta lodged its application was wasted. It was a home truth from the day the political deci- sion to apply was taken that the national airline would have a turbulent future. It simply would not be able to compete unless it streamlined its operations by reducing its operational costs, cut waste, fully focused on its core operations and inculcated a culture of accountability. Many of these curing measures have only been taken of late. There is the perception that our airline has been caught on the hop. The arrival of Ryanair must be seen in the context of our admission to the European Union. The rules of the European Union fully known to us prior to our application is freedom of trade and the breaking up of barriers and frontiers. We appreciate that our airline will have its fair share of trou- bles. It will lose market share. It will have to start operating under fierce competi- tion. This reality should galvanize both the management and the unions to realise that the company has to be managed differently as the circumstances have changed. There is no longer room for outdated work practices or for political patronage. If the airline is to pass through this period of turbulence successfully it must strengthen its management team, working under a policy-setting board of directors composed of persons with a nose for business. The unions must appreciate that times call for tough decisions in the long term interests of the company. The unions too have a direct interest to see our airline overcome this difficult period. All threats of industrial unrest, strikes, sympathy strikes will only be the death knell of the airline that as tax payers we would all want to see flourish. This is a time to be reason- able and forward looking. Ryan's world Editorial • March 27 2005 Wolves in sheep's skin