Reference is made to the front page caption under a photo of one of our members flying a bird of prey at Wied iz-Zurrieq on yesterday’s edition of The Malta Independent.

Fridericus Rex Malta Falconers would like to disassociate themselves from comments made about spring hunting.

Our members fly birds even in autumn, and bar one exception two years ago, we have had no instances of hunters shooting at our birds.

Like other organisations, we condemn the illegal hunting of protected birds and through flying birds of prey which are bred in captivity, we are contributing towards educating the public, including hunters, about the beauty of birds of prey.

We will continue to do this irrespective of whether hunting in spring is allowed or not.

At the moment, we are flying our birds while the hunting season is open. We appeal to hunters to respect birds of prey, irrespective of whether these are ours or not.

Lawrence Formosa

Director

Fridericus Rex Malta Falconers