The Kaċċaturi San Ubertu said that it condemns hunting and trapping illegalities "no less than condemning blatant deceit spread by Birdlife Malta to reach their abolitionist aims."

It was reacting to a statement by BirdLife that during the last season, trappers only managed to report 30 birds with fitted rings from abroad, in the process decimating an estimated minimum of 51,400 birds from the wild.

"We ask Birdlife Malta to substantiate their allegation of 51,000 trapped birds and other fallacies this season if they value their credibility since we have no reserves saying it's all purposely fabricated," the hunting group said.

"We praise the stand taken by Alex Agius Saliba against such deceit which not only damages the trapping and hunting sector but also Malta's image internationally. We urge government to follow Mr. Agius Saliba's stand."

"Birdlife Malta's aim is to influence the European Courts of Justice days before it pronounces its verdict on trapping. A case built on similar fake news which inflates a few illegal instances to seem like a international disaster."

 

"We draw government's attention to safeguarding our hunting and trapping practices and Malta's image which is tarnished by unverified data compiled by extremists that without limits, want to ban hunting and trapping in our islands."