The Federation for Hunting and Conservation – Malta (FKNK) has condemned the shooting of birds as reported by BirdLife Malta during a press conference last Monday, and “as it has done in the past the FKNK will expel any of its members who may be convicted of such crimes”.
During the said press conference, Malta was described as being a “black spot for bird killing” and, once again, it was explained that the country lies in the middle of the migratory path of a number of bird species – but, in spite of the fact that the spring hunting season has not been opened for a second year running, hunting has not stopped.
The Spring Watch camp has recorded at least 950 shots in several locations in Malta over a period of 10 days, and BirdLife Malta is also in possession of videos and photos of shot protected birds and poachers roaming the countryside.
The FKNK has, rightly so, condemned the behaviour of some hunters, and pledged to expel any of its members who are found guilty of breaking the law.
And here lies the crux of the matter. It would be interesting to know how many hunters have been caught in the act, how many of them will be charged, and what punishments they will be given. It would be also interesting to know how many members were expelled from the FKNK in the past.
It is a known fact that the police resources to manage the situation are quite limited, and this means that hunters know that the risk of them being caught is minimal. They are prepared to take chances, and those for whom hunting is no longer just a hobby but has grown to become an obsession will never accept that hunting in spring is no longer allowed.
That for many of them hunting has become an obsession – which is described in the dictionary as “the domination of one’s thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire”, in this case the desire to kill birds – can be encapsulated in the way Maltese hunters were described by British birdwatcher Gerry Keyworth, who addressed journalists on Monday.
“These people are not hunters, as they did not pursue the birds. They are slaughterers,” he said, which means that they just enjoy killing anything that flies – for no other particular reason than to see a bird hit and falling to the ground, and perhaps boast about it while having a beer later on in the evening.
The government seems to believe that its conscience is clear, and that the decision not to open the spring hunting season is enough for hunters to stay at home. This is evidently not the case, but the government seems to have closed its eyes and ears to the problem. Likewise, the opposition is not talking about the issue. Both seem to be ignoring the matter, probably so as not to rock the boat just before the June European Parliament election, but this does not mean that it will go away.
By not opening the hunting season to please Brussels and the environmentalists, but at the same time not giving the police the human resources to combat those who abuse, the government is effectively taking a political decision it knows it cannot enforce. At the end of the day, the government pleases neither side as it sits conveniently on the fence.
The police need more and more resources if they are to tackle the hunting abuse more efficiently, and the courts of justice then must not be lenient with those who are found guilty of committing a crime. And then we’ll see whether the FKNK will stick to what it has pledged to do.