Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/509499
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 MAY 2015 24 Letters Blasting migrating birds from the sky is not a sport It has been encouraging recently to see the law being enforced against bird hunters. It is beyond comprehension how anyone with a heart and of sane mind considers the mass slaughter of defenceless wild birds as 'fun'. It is what it is: Mass slaughter. Adults with big guns, spray- ing the sky with lethal bullets aimed to kill migrating, not even Maltese, birds. What satisfaction do they gain from this? What right do they think they have to kill birds migrating to other countries? People like myself who respect and admire birds for what they are, will never set foot on Malta until this barbaric practice is banned. Why would we spend our money on an island, which currently allows these cowardly hunters to blast birds out of the sky? Imagine if the birds had guns and could defend themselves, how would these hunters then feel? If the hunters want to do some- thing useful they could develop a bird-watching industry on the island. The value to the economy of Malta, not just the hunters, would be very substantial and definitely reach several million pounds a year before too long. It would also clean up Malta's image, which now is of a country where once beautiful, defenceless birds can fall out of the sky and onto you at any moment. Who wants blood splattered all over them on holiday? Sean Whyte London Cultural heritage is in the spotlight once again after vandals struck at Malta's most prominent historical monu- ment, the Portes des Bombes at Floriana. It is an incident which natu- rally leads to a condemnation. But condemnation alone will not take us anywhere. That our main thorough- fares carry no camera other than speed cameras is dis- tressful when one considers that installing audio-visual surveillance at salient herit- age sites is not rocket science. One need not wait for such incidents to take place to highlight the sorry state of our national heritage. This is not the first time that historical monuments have been the target of van- dals. In previous years, in the early nineties to be precise, vandals struck at the heart of our monuments soon after a legal notice reduced the spring hunting season irritat- ing some hunters to vent their frustration at Hagar Qim and Borg in-Nadur. There are numerous case situations across Malta and Gozo which take place without being reported and noted. Paleo-Christian tombs, cart ruts, tow- ers, coastal fortifications, bastions and neolithic temples are the target of illegal constructions and direct destruction. One of the main culprits are undoubt- edly the hunters and trappers. Hundreds of these individuals have taken over the countryside without any legal title, converting sites close to historical and archaeological areas for hunting and trap- ping purposes. They remain untouchables. Take the trapping sites at the Mnajdra neolithic site, Heritage Malta, the police and the Environment Ministry appear impotent to act and kick these squatters out of the way once and for all. Another case in point is the Roman temple at Wardija off Saraf lu in Gozo, lost under two trapping sites and surrounded by a wall and then Xemxija and Borg in-Nadur temples hidden under hides in an area managed or used by hunters and trappers. There are innumerable other instances where our heritage has suffered irrepa- rable damage and the silence from the authorities has been deafening. The state of our heritage is aggravated by the massive building and road develop- ment that has taken place in the last 40 years. Temples such as Bistra Catacombs can be found under asphalted roads. Hotels continue to surround megalithic temples and five star hotels tower over coastal towers. Understandably we have far too many sites to protect and conserve and the yearly budget for the upkeep of our herit- age is a pittance for the number of existing monuments. On the political level, there is an unwrit- ten history of lip-service to our cultural heritage from the dim-witted habit of destroying village cores with by-passes in the six- ties and seventies, to the Mintoffian disregard for the value of our historical gems by allowing quarries to be opened next to tem- ples to the complacency of the Fenech Adami premiership with the mistakes at Chambray and the garish f lats at the Cot- tonera sea front next to Fort St Angelo now partly owned by the Knights of St John. The advent of Heritage Malta and its very clear brief to upgrade the herit- age in Malta augurs well. What is needed are more funds and the incentives to make the dreams of Heritage Malta a reality. Firstly, there must be more funding and certain entities such as Maltco, the new replacement for our National Lottery, and others should be encour- aged to siphon part of their revenues to Heritage Malta. Secondly, there should be tax incentives for indi- viduals and companies to donate proceeds to Heritage initiatives. Public private partnerships with NGO's such as Din l-Art Helwa and corporate businesses should be encouraged and the structures to implement them put in place. And thirdly, money must be redirected into heritage by way of the state much in the same way France and Italy do. Finally there is no possibility for all these dreams to come through without the intervention of the political class. The Prime Minister and the Minister responsible for heritage are duty bound to tackle these issues. The time is now not tomorrow. Cultural heritage in peril Editorial • 08 May 2005 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.