I refer to the article in Sunday’s Independent about the FKNK’s claim that students are being brainwashed about killing birds.

Is there a good side to ‘hunting’ when those involved make no attempt to breed the birds they feel they must kill ‘for fun’?

Every country has its lawbreakers and wildlife murderers, but there are not many places in the world where wildlife is obliterated as ‘sport’ to the extent that the Maltese ‘hunter’ does. To the Maltese ‘hunter’, it matters not if a species is blown to extinction, he does it for the ‘buzz’ and not even because he is hungry. If he was, he could spend the money he wastes on ‘hunting’ on food for him and his family.

Education in the protection and continuation of wildlife is, or should be, a part of every child’s education, so that they can decide whether to partake in this barbaric ‘sport’ of killing swans, flamingos, birds of prey and anything else that falls within their sights.

The FKNK reminds me of the ‘political wing’ of the IRA, protecting its members’ vile ‘sport’ from the Maltese and tourist gaze while promoting the cause of obliteration for anything that flies.

To educate the young while their minds are receptive to different ideas can only be good. There will always be some who want to deplete the countryside and the majority of good citizens should ensure that these numbers are kept well down by educating the younger generation about the rights and wrongs of the choices that they may make in later life.

Malta is a small and beautiful country. The Maltese home is a spotless and beautiful environment, however you don’t need to travel far to find piles of rubbish and builders’ rubble just dumped by the roadside and other places, graffiti, dumped cars, empty cartridge cases and other detritus, the way this island is sometimes treated is unbelievable.

I long for the day that I can roam the countryside and see bird species that I cannot see elsewhere without tripping over an old sink or car tyre or being approached by some Neanderthal carrying a shotgun (which has happened to me) suggesting that the crudely painted sign means that this piece of public land is not to be used by the public.

Is the FKNK really a worthwhile organisation really interested in conservation, I think not. At the risk of being called an interfering tourist who should keep his nose (and maybe his cash) out of Malta’s matters, I would say that it is time for change. We see, in other countries, poaching decimating wonderful creatures such as rhino and elephant for the greed of man and wonder why Malta is full of animal fossils but no animals other than maybe a few rabbits.

It really is time for the Maltese and the authorities to start to put an end to this barbaric behaviour which I call the rape of the Maltese Islands. If these people want to fire guns, why not have clay pigeon shooting ranges? Why not inform children that it is no fun to see one of God’s beautiful creatures plummeting to earth dripping with blood, just to appease one person with a brain in the past, while depriving the rest of us of yet another wonder of nature?

I know that annual migration restocks Malta every year, but this is still no excuse for emptying the skies.  

B.J Simmons

Birchington

UK