The contemplated penalties for hunting-related illegalities in Malta are the harshest in Europe. Penalties listed for serious offences include fines exceeding €14,000, revocation of the hunting licence for life and up to two years’ imprisonment. These penalties should be adequate to deter abuse.

Yet the odd incident, such as the recent shooting of spoonbills, still occurs. Therefore the illegal shooting of rare protected birds that in times of extreme weather conditions occasionally turn up on our shores needs to be given more serious consideration. All too often, such events are greeted by an immediate chorus of condemnation, and just as quickly forgotten.

Ideally the media that feature such bird-crime so prominently should give the same prominence to the results of police action in combating such crime. Once the courts find such criminals guilty, naming them and shaming them should be de rigueur if these people are to be taught a lesson. How can one explain that persons convicted of bird-crime for a third, and even a fourth, time are still allowed to carry a shotgun for hunting purposes? Should not the hard work put in by the police force, in particular that of the Administrative Law Enforcement section, be more appreciated? Should not the sentences delivered by our courts bolster the activities of the police and lighten their workload by serving as a deterrent to would-be law-breakers? Is there a genuine desire for the elimination of such crimes?

The Federation for Hunting & Conservation – Malta (FKNK) and the St Hubert Hunters – Malta (KSU) maintain that convicted repeat offenders should receive the harshest penalty contemplated by law according to the gravity of the crime committed. Relapsers should not be shown any leniency, because this will only lead to repetition of the offence, hence our appeal to the learned judiciary. Malta’s law-abiding hunters expect no more and no less from the judicial system if we are to witness a further drop in bird-crime.

Consequently, it is essential that perpetrators, once convicted, should not be let off with light penalties. It is also highly desirable for the media to publicise with greater prominence the punishments meted out by the law courts, so as not to leave any doubt in people’s minds that both the judiciary and the police are pulling their weight, and that bird-crime no longer pays.

■ Lino Farrugia

general secretary FKNK

■ Mark Mifsud Bonnici

secretary KSU