Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Animal Welfare Clint Camilleri states that there is no conflict with him holding this post because he had been a hunter

Camilleri’s friendship with hunters was of concern for some but he pledged when contacted by this newspaper that, “Neither I nor the government will tolerate any illegal hunting.

“Hunting must be practised within the parameters of the law, just like everything else.”

This is the first time Camilleri has been elected to Parliament. He had ran for the MEP elections and also served as the mayor of Qala. During the last MEP campaign, it was reported that Camilleri was openly backed by the FKNK and during the Spring Hunting Referendum, he was reportedly present at the launch of the ‘yes’ campaign,

Hunting was quite a hot potato in the last legislature. The Prime Minister had twice suspended the hunting season, first in September 2014, after five protected birds had been gunned down, and in April 2015, after a protected bird of prey was shot and fell into the football pitch of a Cottonera school.

Thirty-two protected birds were shot in the last autumn hunting season, according to figures released by the Wild Birds Regulation Unit (WBRU), while 13 protected birds were shot down during the last spring hunting season, according to data released by Birdlife Malta. The hunting seasons were not closed, bringing into question the government’s no tolerance of such situations.

During the campaign, Joseph Muscat also said that he wanted to revise the law regarding fines for hunters and trappers, calling the way the courts are implementing this law as “draconian”. This means that one can expect fines and punishments for hunters to be reduced.