Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri addressed a set of meetings organised by The European Federation for Hunting and Conservation over the weekend, local hunting lobby group the FKNK said in a statement.

A delegation of four Officials from the Council of the FKNK (Federation for Hunting and Conservation - Malta) participated in the meetings organized by FACE (The European Federation for Hunting and Conservation) in Dortmund on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Jagd und Hund Fair - the largest hunting exhibition in Europe. 

The meetings were of FACE MED, FACE Communications Working Group and FACE Board.

On the invitation of FACE, the Honourable Minister Clint Camilleri addressed the FACE MED meeting, which includes FACE Members from the Mediterranean region, including the 35-year-old FACE member from Malta - FKNK. 

The FKNK said that Minister Camilleri's address and the ensuing discussions focused on the traditional hunting and trapping practices of the Mediterranean countries and the similar challenges that each country faces as a result of the interpretation and implementation of EU legislation.

“The meetings discussed the current priorities for the future of hunting and conservation in Europe.  Key files included the EU’s new restoration law due to be published this month, large carnivores, migratory birds, in particular turtle doves, as well as finches, African swine fever in wild boar, and ammunition.  It’s clear there is a huge programme of work to solve Europe’s biodiversity problems, and Brussels needs to understand that Europe’s 7,000,000 hunters are part of the solution,” the FKNK said.

All the meetings particularly promoted the recently launched FACE European Hunters’ Campaign through the collection of a Petition that will be filed in Brussels in October 2022, the federation said.

The FKNK said it will officially launch the Campaign locally in the coming weeks.