PS goes to war with BirdLife Malta

Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights Clint Camilleri – a member of the hunting lobby group FKNK – has waded into a social media war with BirdLife Malta.

In a tweet yesterday, PS Camilleri posted a statement by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) reporting that hundreds of birds of prey had arrived in Malta but that to their surprise, not a single shot had been fired.

Camilleri, in his tweet, said: “Just in case you missed it: ‘A clear sign of a change in the Maltese hunting community’ ‘not a single shot’ - CABS.” He then tagged the FKNK, BirdLife, and news outlets.

BirdLife Malta retorted by saying, “Since you missed it, share this too,” linking to a BirdLife message pointing out the slaughter of nine protected birds since 1 September: “All these birds are protected species, and continue to high- light the ruthless situation with the illegal killing of birds in Malta. These nine casualties represent only a small fraction of the protected birds being targeted.”

In response, the parliamentary secretary said: “No need to. BirdLife Malta and the ‘independent’ media do that part perfectly – inflating the few illegalities and ignoring all positive news. Well done.”

BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana then tweeted the following to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat: “@JosephMuscat_JM the above comment by junior minister @Clint_Camilleri is shameful and should be retracted. I call his bluff now. Show me which figures by @BirdLife_Malta are inflated. Same figures that the [Wild Birds Regulations Unit] have. Tal-mistħija.”

In response, Camilleri again posted the CABS report, to which Sultana said: “Do not deviate from the challenge. Clint Camilleri you stated that we inflate figures. Show me which figures are inflated. Or retract your tweet. I repeat I am calling your bluff.”

Camilleri then replied: “It was stated that all storks were killed. One person was taken to court while another is being investigated. How did you conclude that the rest of the storks were also killed?”

Two people have been arraigned over the killing of a number of storks this summer; however, BirdLife has previously said that it believes that the rest of a flock of storks alighting in Malta were killed.

BirdLife, in yet another response to Camilleri, said: “When you state incorrect and unethical statements, you have two options. 1) to man up and apologise 2) to slither under a rock. Are you a man?”

This newsroom contacted BirdLife CEO Mark Sultana, who said that when Camilleri was made Parliamentary Secretary for Animal Rights, he [Sultana] had remained very respectful towards him, even though others were sceptical.

“I wanted to give him a chance to prove that he can move beyond his own personal interests and do his job. His comments today prove that his position is untenable. He has crossed the line, disrespecting civil society, tweeting a lie, and claiming that Birdlife exaggerates illegalities when the figures we have presented are the very same that his Wild Birds Regulations Unit has.

“I have challenged Camilleri, calling his bluff, and I am asking him to tell me which figures are incorrect. I have asked him to man up and apologise. Otherwise, the prime minister should find him another position. I don’t believe he will have our trust unless he deletes those tweets and admits he was wrong.”

This newsroom asked Sultana about the storks and BirdLife’s previous statements regarding the issue, to which he replied that while some BirdLife representatives believed the storks had been shot, the organisation had not included those numbers in their figures.

“In our last press conference, we only included the two storks that ended up at the vet; we didn’t even include the storks we saw get shot, as we did not have the bodies. That is how ethical we are. But Camilleri, who was silent throughout the whole stork ordeal, has now opted to defend his position by saying we said such-and-such a thing. He lied twice. He hasn’t accepted our challenge.

“Having a junior minister who blatantly lies about civil society is unacceptable.”