Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/897139
maltatoday SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2017 Interview 15 Plans are afoot to extend hunting and trapping hours at Majjistral nature park: a move that would transform an area almost the size of Comino into an unofficial hunting reserve. Park chairman SAMMY VELLA makes a last-ditch attempt to stop this 'folly' from happening Majjistral Park of an accidental shotgun injury – such things have been known to happen – how would the question of culpable responsibility pan out? "To be fair, accidents can always happen. Geographically, the park has certain features that can be hazardous. There is a very long cliff edge, for example. We always warn groups with children to be watchful: the cliff edge is very dan- gerous; some of it is crumbling. I've been present when a tour guide was addressing a group, and some of the tourists were standing with their backs to the cliff... only about a foot away. If one of them took a step back to look at a plant the guide was talking about, he would probably push the one be- hind him over the edge. So there are hazardous situa- tions that have to be addressed. We have to continuously brief our guides to make sure they do not lead their guests into any kind of danger..." These are all issues that already exist independently of the proposed extension. Naturally, one assumes they will magnify in direct proportion to the extended hours... if, that is, the proposal goes through. What stage are we at, exactly? "What happened was that [En- vironment Minister Jose Herrera] sent a message that he wanted to meet the board to discuss 'certain issues', without specifying exactly what those issues were. At the time, however, (it was late August or early September), half of the board was away from the island. The others were either unavail- able... one member, for instance, is the Mellieha mayor. He was busy organising the Mellieha fes- tival. Others had work appoint- ments, etc. I ended up having to go to that meeting by myself. The minister was a bit... well, let's say 'disappointed' that no one else came. So the meeting took place between myself, the minister and the parliamentary secretary [Clint Camilleri]. It was quite.... well, 'in- teresting'." That last word came out as a short laugh. "As soon I realised what was being proposed...my re- action was very contrary. Actually, it was quite hostile. It became a sparring contest between myself and Clint Camilleri, who is the Parliamentary Secretary for Ag- riculture, Fisheries and [pause] Animal Rights. Camilleri, as eve- rybody knows, is a hunter himself. He was very sympathetic to the hunting lobby; he made it clear that he had been authorised by Cabinet to push this amendment to the legal notice that regulates the park..." Was there any discussion with any other group, apart from the hunters, before this meeting? "I can't even say I'm aware of any discussion with the hunters. I have no idea, to be honest. We were not told. After the discus- sion was over, I sent an email to the minister, to register in writ- ing what I thought about the proposal: what the repercussions might be, and why it is completely unacceptable. Afterwards he con- vened another meeting, and this time the rest of the board was able to come. There was a lot of very lengthy discussion, in which all the board members – except for the representative of the Mellieha local council – made it very clear that they were completely against these amendments. The Mellieha local council, in the person of its mayor John Buttigieg, declared that the council had discussed the issue, and had voted unani- mously in favour of the extension. Later, when I asked some council members how it was even pos- sible that a local council - split almost 50/50 between two politi- cal parties which rarely agree on anything - actually agreed on this issue... well, it turned out that not all council members were present for the vote. In any case: the Mel- lieha local council agreed with the proposal; everyone else disagreed. However, we weren't all in agree- ment on what our counter-pro- posal should be.... Why should there even be a counter proposal, though? If the argument is that hunting and trapping is incompatible with the other uses of the park... how can there be any 'compromise'? "The situation is this: the amendment is being pushed by the parliamentary secretary... but the minister disagrees with it. He declared as much during the meeting. He said, 'Let me make it clear. I am not a hunter; and I am sympathetic to your position. But the proposal has the backing of a large part of the cabinet; I am part of the cabinet, I have to act in a collegial way.'" That meeting was on a Mon- day; and Herrera also informed the board that the following day, Cabinet would be convening to decide on this issue. "So unless the board came up with a counter-proposal, the deci- sion would be taken the next day. He [Herrera] made it very clear what that decision would be... to extend those hunting hours. So we decided to convene a board meet- ing right there and then: the min- ister even lent us his own board- room. We had another lengthy discussion. Somebody suggested that we might apportion the days of the week: extend the hours on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; but not on Tuesday and Thurs- day. But that was not at all satis- factory... how can you tell tour- ists not to come on certain days of the week? Some of them come on cruise liners. Anyway: I did not feel I should curtail even a single hour of the public's enjoyment of the park. So I disagreed with that. Then something occurred to me: there is an extensive tract of agri- cultural land in the park, and we always tell our visitors not to tres- pass on agricultural land, unless a farmer invites you in. Since our visitors do not go to these areas of the park at all, I suggested that we extend the hunting and trapping hours only on officially leased agricultural land. That way, we would have extended the hours, but still avoid unnecessary prob- lems. Most of the board seemed to like that, though the three NGOs continued to insist we should not budge an inch. But to cut a long story short, we proposed that as a compromise..." What was the response? "It seems it upset the plans to take a decision that Tuesday. I can't say for certain, but the deci- sion wasn't taken after all. That's why I said earlier that nothing has been etched in granite. We are still in time to reconsider." Former Mellieha mayor Sammy Vella is worried about possible longer hunting hours at 'Majjistral Nature and History Park'