I am a keen target (clay pigeon) shooter, and although I am not a member of the hunting fraternity, I must admit that the forthcoming referendum creates a definite feeling of uncertainty on the future of my activity. Some Maltese youngsters really excel in clay shooting, as well as target shooting with rifles and handguns on the international scene; indeed, shooting is singular in the noteworthy achievements obtained on the international scene.

One of the reasons put forward by environmentalists who want to curb and indeed abolish shooting, is lead poisoning. Now it is a known fact that once lead shot is exposed to the elements, near immediate oxidization of its surface renders it impervious to leeching into the substrate. Local environmentalist NGOs are wont to mention the fallout from car exhaust, and that from fuel guzzling burn out from turbines that wreak havoc to our health, land, and underlying water catchments. Not to mention also the numerous bore holes, many of them illegal, which have increased the salinity of the water table.

 Alternattiva Demokratika's Carmel Cacopardo, one of the main protagonists fronting CASH, and lately SHout, has gone on record stating that he does not preclude this referendum from being the forerunner of other abrogative referenda. A statement lately deleted by MaltaToday on-line as if it had never been uttered, due to its obvious counter productivity to the SHout cause.

 One must consider that each and every activity is governed by a set of rules and regulations. In this day and age where minority activities are in the cross hairs of opinionated individuals, no guarantees from prejudiced lawyers or a retired judge can guarantee that the buck stops with the forthcoming abrogative referendum. Clay pigeon and target shooting could be next.

 

Jean Zammit

Naxxar