Close the season now
Yesterday we witnessed two new shocking cases of illegal hunting, with the shooting down of two greater flamingos, one over Hal Far and the second over Marsascala. The first bird had to be euthanised.
These were the 10th and 11th reported cases of illegal hunting on protected birds since the autumn season opened on the first day of September.
What happened yesterday was nothing but a show of brutality and ignorance, but also sent out the message that cowboy hunters can act with impunity, for the authorities will not act.
There will undoubtedly be more similar incidents in the days to come. One does not need to be a fortune teller to know that other protected birds will be gunned down.
Last year, during the autumn season, over 30 protected birds were recorded shot. 13 birds were recorded shot during the spring hunting season. These are only the cases we know of. Yet the government took no action last year and it seems that it will do nothing this year either.
In 2015 the prime minister closed the hunting season prematurely after a kestrel was shot and landed at St Edward’s College, traumatising
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students. But nothing of the sort happened earlier this month, when an injured bird was found at the De la Salle College football grounds. In 2015 Muscat had described the incident as ‘inexcusable.’ There were no similar words of condemnation this time round. The PM did not utter a word yesterday, either. It seems that this time round it is not convenient to take similar action.
The parliamentary secretary responsible for hunting, Clint Camilleri, who is himself a hunter, yesterday uploaded a short Facebook post condemning the latest incidents and saying that those responsible should be brought to justice. But what is needed are not a few lines of condemnation on Facebook, but real action. If the government does not close down, or take some other form of drastic action and beef up the police units tasked with monitoring illegal hunting, nothing will change.
Camilleri has, in the meantime, refused to answer questions sent by this newsroom after the latest spate of illegalities.
This is all being done in the context of a discussion on easing punishments for illegal hunting. While the powers that be are not considering lessening fines for hunting of protected species, they are considering lessening punishments for other infringements, such as hunting during closed season or exceeding the bag limit. This will only serve to strengthen the sense of impunity that some hunters have. What we need is stronger enforcement – the police need to show that they mean business, that no illegality, no matter how small, will be permitted.
Another worrying development is the announcement that a petition by hunters to make sure that there can be no future referendum on spring hunting will be brought back to life. If such a move were to succeed, it could possibly lead to an increase in hunting illegalities, with the perpetrators thinking that their pastime is safe, even if protected birds are shot.
Politicians are, of course, unwilling to take action, let alone speak about the subject, because the hunting lobby for them only means 10,000+ votes.
And while it is easy to criticise the government on hunting, the Opposition hardly ever says a word on the subject. It now remains to be seen whether the PN, whose new leader has admitted to having voted against spring hunting, will finally find a voice on the subject.