Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/503337
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 APRIL 2015 5 News Hunters protest Muscat's arbitrary decision to close hunting season CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 "FKNK unreservedly condemns the inci- dent and illegalities are to be ab- horred. But we can never accept collective punishment and hold- ing 9,500 hunters responsible be- cause of a handful of criminals," Perici Calascione said. Calling it discrimination against the law-abiding hunters, the FKNK said it was irrespon- sible of the government to place everyone in the same basket, in- cluding hunters themselves who reported illegalities to the fed- eration or to the authorities. "I can't understand how the government can tell the hunters to report the illegalities, only to use those same reports against them. Everyone this year agrees that hunters have been a lot more careful and they have cooper- ated… you will find individuals who breach the law and that is why we have laws and fines. Can the government explain what the majority of hunters did to merit such drastic action?" Perici Calascione and FKNK CEO Lino Farrugia said collec- tive punishment was anti-dem- ocratic, while they criticised the government for taking the deci- sion without first waiting for the police to conclude its investiga- tion. The FKNK appeared to be ex- tremely baff led by the govern- ment's decision, despite repeat- ed warnings by Muscat that he would immediately close the sea- son if any "f lagrant" abuses took place. When Muscat warned that this would be the hunters' "last chance", FKNK said it didn't quite understand what the PM meant. Perici Calascione, arguing that he had "expected more" from the government, said the hunters could not know of every illegality that takes place. "How long will this persecution against the hunters go on? FKNK will be seeking legal action… this is oppression that could hit other sectors of society," he said, adding that FKNK will continue working to help curb illegalities and analyse what can be done to avoid future premature closing of the seasons. Perici Calascione, still trying to wrap his head around the Prime Minister's decision, said a lot of opinions are f loated as soon as a decision is taken. "I still haven't understood what the last chance meant … I understand intoler- ance towards abuses but how can I be blamed for something I didn't do? I don't need to hold a press conference to practise my hobby? We wanted to become a non-entity," he said. "Right now many are hurt and angry and a lot of things are said. We are now starting to analyse the situation and if it means go- ing to court, then we go. But I want to have a serious dialogue with all stakeholders, with the government and to cooperate with the authorities." 'We hope this truly was the last chance for hunters' – BirdLife TIM DIACONO BIRDLIFE treasurer Mark Sultana said that he hopes that the prema- ture closure of the spring hunting season will truly be the last chance for hunters. While he praised Prime Minister Joseph Muscat's "courageous" de- cision to close the season, Sultana claimed that Muscat should ex- plain exactly what he meant when he said the hunters were given "one last chance" by the public fol- lowing the spring hunting referen- dum. "The Prime Minister certainly bears a lot of responsibility with regard to spring hunting now," Sultana said. He was addressing a press confer- ence outside the law courts where a hunter is currently being charged for having shot down a kestrel, a protected bird, on Monday. The wounded kestrel landed in the playground of a primary school, reportedly "traumatizing" children, an incident that prompt- ed Muscat to close the spring hunting season, three days before its official closure. However, the kestrel shooting was only the latest in a series of hunting illegalities throughout the spring hunting season, which a recent referendum only narrowly failed to abolish. Sultana said that this premature closure is proof that hunting ille- galities increase when the hunting season opens. "Despite the narrow referendum result and the Prime Minister's harsh warning to hunters not to break the law, several illegalities still occurred throughout this sea- son," Sultana said. "No illegalities should have occurred at all this season after such a close referen- dum result. "Instead, many hunters just could not control themselves and illegal hunting took place from al- most the moment the season was opened. As hunters grew more confident, the offences became progressively worse." BirdLife conservation manager Nick Barbara said that BirdLife had uncovered hunters illegally using electronic bird callers and guns that could fire more than three shots. Barbara, who is facing charges for having been in possession of an illegally shot bird, criticised the FKNK for claiming that BirdLife's recent possession of an illegally shot cuckoo could have been il- legal. "Nothing will stop us from ex- posing these illegalities through the media until they end once and for all," he said, insisting that it is not illegal to rescue a bird that is suffering because it has been shot by hunters. He insisted that spring hunting should be abolished, both because it's an "unsustainable" practice and because it serves as a "smoke- screen" for illegal hunting. He pointed out that two consec- utive hunting seasons have been closed prematurely and said that he hopes that hunting seasons will now be closed whenever there are illegalities. He said that enforcement on hunters should tighten, as "more illegalities take place than what appears on the media". YOUR FIRST CLICK OF THE DAY www.maltatoday.com.mt Joe Perici Calascione (left) and Lino Farrugia – collective punishment is anti-democratic