It is dishonest to portray our country with a spate of lies, as did RAI 3 programme GeoGeo recently in its documentary on the migration of birds across the Mediterranean. Spain, Southern France, Italy and the Balkans, were naturally mentioned, because migratory birds find a suitable habitat to rest and nest on their big reserves and open areas. But when Malta was mentioned, it was in an especially negative way and took more time for its comment than the rest.

Our islands were described as strategic for bird migration across the Mediterranean; something that even those with an elementary knowledge of our geographical position can’t accept. The two main routes followed by birds in their spring and autumn migrations across the Mediterranean are over a thousand miles to the west of Malta, where Spain’s most southerly point is only five miles from the North African coast; and over a thousand miles to the eastern Mediterranean. Here, birds migrating north follow the Nile. Reaching its delta they go up the Middle Eastern countries and reach Eastern and Northern Europe. Understandably enough, birds avoid crossing the Sahara Desert and a large expanse of sea.

In the autumn, the birds nearest to our shores are those from Central Europe, which tend to reach Sicily and follow a southwesterly short route to the Tunisian coast, most often missing us given the small size of our islands. Malta’s position in the Central Mediterranean is outside the migratory routes of birds. Those passing over Malta must have winds that blow off their routes, combined with a favourable wind that brings them in sight of our tiny islands.

The commentator, who said that Maltese hunters shoot 200,000 turtle-doves each year, added bigger lies; that each year 150,000 sparrows are shot and around three million finches trapped.

Naturally, those who in the past few years have waged an unrelenting propaganda against hunters and trappers gave this false information.

The damage done to Malta’s image by this false and exaggerated propaganda must have been greater than that hunters and trappers could have done in many years.

Paul Portelli

NADUR