Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/488485
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL 2015 5 News Starting from €9,695 For more information contact: Michael Debono Limited 0GLQD5RDGĽHEEXã 7HO VDOHV#WR\RWDFRPPW ZZZWR\RWDFRPPW Toyota Gozo Showroom 0ãDUU5RDG ;HZNLMD;:.*R]R 7HO JJV#WR\RWDFRPPW Toyota Malta 5 year WARRANTY DEBONO F I N A N C E ONLY 5.5% VARIABLE RATE OVER 6 YEARS A 'no' vote is a vote for our children's future – SHout AT a Spring Hunting Out ac- tivit y in Marsaskala yesterday, Moira Delia said that a 'no' vote would secure a better future for our children, creating a legacy of a countryside rich in nature. Speaking at a SHout campaign event at Sant'Antin Family Park, Delia said "anyone with children wants them to grow up to have a better future. We are now being given the opportunit y to ensure that our children grow up in a country where birds and nature f lourish, and where they can have unhindered opportunities to enjoy the countryside and our rich natural heritage at the best time of year." Delia reminded the public of the birds that returned to breed in Malta during the spring of 2008 and 2009, when there was no spring hunting due to Malta's ongoing court case at the Euro- pean Court of Justice. "During these years, when there was no spring hunting, beautiful birds returned to breed here in Malta and Gozo – kestrels, swifts, swallows, col- ourful bee-eaters. Just imagine how our countryside could be in five, ten or 20 years without spring hunting, imagine the legacy we could create for our children." She also spoke about the im- portance of nature for our chil- dren, saying, "Getting out into the countryside, experiencing nature, is so important for our children. For them to run and play under the trees, to have the freedom to explore, for their imaginations to run wild." Delia said that during spring hunting seasons, many people feared letting their children play in the countryside. "At the mo- ment, we cannot let our children do this in spring while there is hunting going on. We know that school groups have had to turn back due to lead pellets falling on them, that children have found dead birds in their play- grounds. We have the chance to change this for them." "Our children deserve a bet- ter future, and we can give it to them. Vote 'no' on 11 April, and together we can create a legacy that Malta will be proud of." PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD 'If you meet a hunter, he's bound to offer you a cup of coffee' – Lino Farrugia MATTHEW AGIUS THE chief executive of the FKNK, Lino Farrugia, has described hunt- ing in Malta as being "necessary, unlike in other countries". The pro-hunting campaign yes- terday met at the Xaqqa cliffs in Siggiewi, where youths from the Iva movement said that people had to be allowed to enjoy the countryside, irrespective of the result of the 11 April referendum. Malta will go to the polls to decide whether the government should keep derogating from the ban on spring hunting enshrined in the EU's Birds Directive. In comments to MaltaToday, Lino Farrugia claimed that both non- hunters and hunters could enjoy the countryside together. "If some hiker approaches a hunter in the countryside, he'll probably end up being offered a cup of coffee," the FKNK chief executive said in a bid to illustrate hunters' "tolerance". "The only hunting for the Mal- tese is spring hunting. If you don't have a passion for hunting you can't understand it, but all we are talk- ing about here are 20 afternoons in spring." Farrugia's claims of tolerance jar with past episodes during which hunters assaulted bird monitors during the spring season, some- thing that the anti-spring hunting camp has been keen to highlight in its campaign. Maltese hunters can hunt for five months in the autumn, but a Euro- pean Court of Justice ruling upheld the concept that the migration dur- ing that season could not serve as an alternative to spring hunting, which led the government to es- tablish quotas for both Spring and Autumn hunting seasons and daily limits on hunters' catches. "The 16,000 quota was never reached," Farrugia said. "I assure you that it is sustain- able, if it wasn't, Europe would have stopped us." When asked whether the quotas were being under-declared, Far- rugia said that "the best available data… was better than people's im- agination." Youths from the pro-spring hunt- ing movement IVA, also said dur- ing the press connference that ir- respective of the referendum result people must be allowed to enjoy the countryside. Addressing a press conference at Xaqqa cliffs, near Siggiewi, the IVA campaign presented "ten rea- sons for youths to vote in favour of retaining the derogation allowing hunting in Spring". The IVA movement also an- nounced that they had signed a memorandum of understand- ing with the Malta Climbing As- sociation, addressing past issues about access to climbing areas on or through private land. Jeffrey Camilleri, on behalf of the asso- ciation, said that any confrontation with hunters was because of "indi- vidual views". Cheers – Lino Farrugia SHout – Spring Hunting Out: Mark Sultana and Moira Delia at a 'No' campaign activity