You might not think that a person in Iceland would have much to do with bird life in Gozo or even Malta. Just for some background on the subject, my wife and I spent one month during the last Christmas and New Year holiday at Marsalforn, Gozo. Of course we just fell in love with Gozo and its people.

We leased a nice apartment on the promenade. We are not big bird lovers but we always enjoy them in the garden and what not. What we did not know about was the shooting huts close by and the pellets from the shotgun ammo falling onto the apartment building. Hunters were shooting anything that flies and were also net trapping, at the same time, using caged singing canaries as a lure.

Now I read on the internet about the bird hunting season, which is a big issue in Malta and Gozo. I see there is an ongoing debate on EU directives and whether they are being followed or not. What I can say is that many tourists will not return to Malta and Gozo, no matter how much they love the place.

I cannot convince Icelanders to go to Malta and Gozo if I am not even sure that I want to return to this crazy bird-hunting business. We, here in Iceland, have a bird hunting season for ducks, geese, puffins and other edible birds. We also have bird clubs that net birds for banding. This we feel is all well and good, as we eat the larger, edible birds and there is a quota on how many to shoot.

I understand that the tourist trade is number one in Malta’s economy. I just wonder how far the Maltese government will trash the economy and have to take on EU sanctions on top of that.

Well, I hope it is resolved soon as we would love to return to Gozo this October. Gozo is the only place left in the western world that has peace and ease of life.

One good thing about bird hunting in Gozo and Malta is that when the tourist economy fails enough, the apartment rental and hotel prices will become very cheap for the few who will visit Malta.

I do not think that the

seasonal cruise ship visit will hold up the Malta economy alone.

Jonas Thor Arthursson

Reykjavik

Iceland