Partit Demokratiku MP Godfrey Farrugia has questioned the PN’s call for another consultation exercise on the Majjistral Nature Park extended hours for hunting and trapping, following the motion he presented in parliament.
The motion, co-signed by MPs Godfrey Farrugia and Marlene Farrugia, is against a Legal Notice which controversially extends the hours of hunting and trapping at the Majjistral Park. The position has been opposed by the government-appointed board, made up of Nature Trust, the Gaia Foundation and Din L-Art Helwa. It was tabled on 23 November.
They argued that although hunting was initially not allowed within the park, it had now been extended till after 10am.
The PD motion is set to be debated in Parliament tonight. On Saturday, the PN announced that it will be moving an amendment which calls for a wide consultation process with the participation of all stakeholders. At the same time, the PN amendment removes the part of the PD motion where it calls for the hunting hours to be reversed back to their original form.
“The consultation process has already been done,” said Farrugia, when asked for his stance on the PN’s amendment. “The PN are an indecisive group,” he said. “The country needs a way forward. In politics you need to choose one way or another, in a just and balanced way.”
In a press release issued on Saturday night, Partit Demokratiku said “the amendment that Delia’s Nationalist Party will be moving to re-open a consultation on a subject that was decided years ago after a decent consultation, shows insidious support for what the government is imposing, and is against the unanimous decision of the Advisory Board managing the Park, as well as the ERA.”
“The board have met three times on the issue and have always been against it, besides the local council who voted in favour,” Godfrey Farrugia told this newspaper. He reiterated that he is “all for sustainable hunting,” however, within a “fair and balanced system.”
“In which EU country does a national park have hunters?” he asked, adding “there are families in the middle of this issue, not only hunters, and we must keep in mind that we have only two national parks.”
In the press release, PD accused the PN of being “spineless” and said the party under Adrian Delia had lost its way.
“It is a shame that DeliaPN, like the government of Muscat, lost their compass (if they ever had one), when it comes to protecting as well as their balance with the use of the few open spaces left for the people,” the press release stated. It concluded by saying that when it comes to the environment “there isn’t much of a choice between DeliaPN and MuscatPL”.
Yesterday, MaltaToday reported that three MPs – Clyde Puli, Herman Schiavone and Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici – wanted the PN to vote against the PD motion. But other MPs insisted that, in doing so, the PN would effectively be supporting the government. It seems that the amendment was a form of compromise.
Majjistral Park Federation did not receive reply from Environment Minister to revoke regulations
The Majjistral Park Federation, made up of NGOs Din L-Art Helwa, Nature Trust Malta and the Gaia Foundation said that, till time of writing, they did not receive a reply from Environment Minister Jose Herrera regarding revoking the regulations, and are appealing for the revocation of extended hunting hours at Majjistral Park.
In a statement, the Federation said it hopes that “common sense will prevail in Parliament and all MPs will uphold the motion put forward Dr Godfrey Farrugia.”
“On 27 October Legal Notice 300 of 2017 was published, whereby the regulations pertaining to hunting and trapping hours in the Majjistral Park were extensively increased during Autumn,” the Federation wrote. “The Public was unaware of this amendment because no public consultation was held in change.”
“In effect, such a time extension means much reduced time for the public – to visit the park at a time when daytime gets shorter.. To this end the park Federation wrote to Minister Herrera on 14 November 2017 to revoke such regulations. No answer has been received to date,” it wrote.
“The Federation notes that the hunting and trapping times had already been extended in the past from 9am to 10.00 am – whereby an equitable solution had already been reached. Extending such times again to the afternoon practically cuts off access to the public in the most beautiful season of the year. Such a short sighted and rash decision in favor of a few has now reduced further access to our ever diminishing countryside,” the federation concluded.