The hunters’ federation, FKNK, said the amendments to hunting rules announced last Monday by the Rural Affairs and the Environment Ministry were not some gift to hunters but were introduced because, up to last Monday, the situation had been irregular due to unnecessary conditions which had been introduced in March, 2006.

The situation since has been confusing and troublesome for hunters and trappers, and for the police.

The federation wondered why the ministry waited exactly until the opening of the season for hunting at sea, or for trapping, before it announced the new rules. The situation relating to the importation of birds taken legally from EU countries had been made illegal by legal notice 79/06. So the government was bound to introduce the new regulation.

As for the sizes of bird trapping nets, the FKNK said, these were introduced uselessly, not because that was what the EU had wanted. The third amendment related to hunting ducks and geese from land. The situation had been rendered absurd because Malta had been the only country in the world where ducks could not be hunted on land.

The FKNK had requested, together with this amendment, another relating to the distances from the seashore but this was not accepted because the restrictions had been requested by BirdLife Malta, though not the EU.

The FKNK said it had also made a request relating to the power of outboard motors for hunting at sea, especially keeping in mind the safety of hunters at sea. It has again written to the minister on this and until the situation was remedied, it said, the minister should assume all responsibility for any tragedy that could occur.