Mr Farrugia contested the 12 June EP election and was banking on his 16,000 fellow hunters and trappers in Malta and Gozo for a seat at the EP. However, only 3,119 people gave him their first preference.

During yesterday’s press conference, called to inform the media about the federation’s plans for the future, Mr Farrugia said the media was unfair in its coverage of his campaign and therefore his message had not come across.

He said the political campaign and “brainwashing” was also to blame for his electoral defeat.

He said only Malta Today was fair while he criticised the Nationalist Party newspaper In-Nazzjon and General Workers’ Union newspaper l-orizzont for not accepting to publish paid adverts as part of his campaign.

The Malta Independent asked Mr Farrugia how he could blame the media if not even 20 per cent of the FKNK registered members gave him their support. This newspaper further asked why the media was being blamed for his electoral defeat when TMI attended and gave coverage to nearly all of Mr Farrugia’s press conferences and other events related to his campaign.

Mr Farrugia was quick to bring out a copy of The Malta Independent in which a story of his press conference was accompanied with a photo of two dead birds – after all this is the result of hunting. FKNK president Joseph Buttigieg interrupted with an analogy: “If (Sven Goran) Erikkson (the England coach) is talking about his team, you cannot put a photo of the English hooligans. The FKNK is promoting hunting as a legal sport and not something illegal as was portrayed in that photo.”

Mr Farrugia did not stop there. He went on to attack The Times for publishing a story of his campaign accompanied with a photo “which was taken so many years ago that I did not even recognise myself.” To this The Malta Independent commented “grow up”, which was followed by a disruption.

Members of the audience, who were obviously hunters, said the media discriminated against the hunters, and insults were levelled at the members of the media present. This prompted The Malta Independent to walk out of the press conference.

Earlier, Mr Buttigieg read out a speech in which he hinted that the electoral defeat was not a stumbling block for the federation and that if there are people who think that the federation “was slapped across the face with this result”, they should think twice about this.