It’s typical of this government’s craven behaviour towards the hunters’ lobby to cave in again to their demands not to ban this year’s “blood fest”, despite the risk posed by the bird flu pandemic.

How shameful and embarrassing to see an elected government bullied in this way – bossed about by threats of trouble and legal action if they don’t give in. What legal action, I wonder? Are they committing some offence by putting the health of the people and economy of the nation before the amusement of the few?

Just one infected bird needs to be brought down to bring the disease to this island. But then, of course, a hundred other ways will be found to explain how it got here, every way but by a hunter’s gun or trapper’s net.

“Us for quail and turtle dove only” rule. Two separate hunters fired repeatedly on a hazard circling over the Wied Qarnaw Valley on Friday 24 March – the day before the season opened!

But then that’s normal, isn’t it?

Clifford John Williams

Santa Lucia