FKNK president Joe Perici Calascione said today that no European country imposes collective punishment, and the federation is considering taking legal steps in a bid to bring to an end this “oppression”.

“The problem we are facing is that the government is discriminating against hunters and imposing a collective punishment, despite the fact that the majority of hunters acted in an exemplary manner and abided by the rules,” he said.

Addressing a news conference at the federation’s offices, a day after the hunting season was cut short by the Prime Minister following the shooting of a protected bird in Cottonera, he said that the witness testifying in today’s court case against the hunter who allegedly shot the bird yesterday is a member of the federation but the accused is not.

"We are expected to report illegalities but government used these reports to halt hunting season. How can a government ask hunters to report illegalities of fellow hunters when the government uses these same reports to shut down the hunting season?" Mr Perici Calascione asked.

“While we have no words but those of condemnation regarding this incident or any other illegal incidents which took place for that matter, we cannot but lament the fact that we are being treated as second-class citizens,” he said.

“Are we living in a democratic country, and what did the majority of hunters do wrong? he asked.

 “As we speak, a hunter who allegedly abused the law is currently in court; the federation’s lawyers are assisting the witnesses as an interested party in the case,” he explained.

The FKNK said that a number of images and video clips were taken of birds flying over Malta freely this season. Why don’t we see any positive articles of this sort in newspapers? he asked.

“We are feeling that we are living in a police state, we have never felt like this, constantly being scrutinised so that the minute a hunter slips out of line, he is pounced upon,” he said.

“There are more police officers than turtle doves,” he joked.

The FKNK claimed that an anonymous caller identified the accused after he called the federation, who in turn informed the police. Initially, the police picked up three individuals tied to the case.

The fact that the hunting season was halted may hinder the fact that hunters will report future illegalities, he explained.

“Momentarily, hunters are angry,” he said, adding that the FKNK is ready to meet up with the government to engage in dialogue to avoid further confrontations.

“We need to have peace of mind that this won’t happen again though, the faster the meeting takes place, the less speculation there will be,” Mr Perici Calascione said.

It still has to be established whether the hunter who is facing a court has a hunting licence, he said, but the likelihood is that he is in possession of a licence but is a member of another association.