Under pressure, hunters’ lobby appeals for calm and cooperation

The FKNK has once again cried foul over what it believes is the ‘collective punishment’ of the hunting community after Prime Minister Joseph Muscat shuttered the autumn season following poaching reports and the downing of a White Stork.

FKNK chief executive Lino Farrugia said the action was “unjustified and can never be accepted in a civilized society.”

Farrugia also pointed fingers at the Nationalist Party, the Green Party, and BirdLife for applauding the government’s decision, claiming that over 7 million EU citizens can “freely hunt in this period all over Europe”.

The FKNK has filed a judicial protest against the closure of the autumn hunting season, and has threatened more legal action “to put a definite stop to collective punishment”.

An illegal protest held on Sunday that saw insults hurled outside the Office of the Prime Minister, saw the arraignment and detention under arrest of 10 men on Thursday.

“We fully understand members’ hurt, who after having patiently cared for and carefully prepared their live-bird decoys, trained their gun-dogs, and since 1 September endured an open hunting season with an insignificant number of game-birds – now that finally some game-birds, quail, starling and song thrush, are making an appearance, the season has been unjustly closed,” Farrugia said.

Farrugia appealed for ‘calm and cooperation’ from members, saying that hunters’ gains were never achieved through illegal actions, “but through careful consideration and forward-looking decision-making, dedication, and backing and unity within its membership fold.”

He said FKNK officials have been busy preparing objections to the proposed abrogative referendum to abolish spring hunting, which objectives have to be filed in the Constitutional Court by next week.

Farrugia also referred to a European Commission proposal on the draft key actions for large carnivore populations of bear, lynx, wolf and wolverine, that removed a suggestion for a ‘collective punishment’ ban over poaching of the Scandinavian population of the wolf.

“There was harsh opposition against such measures at the meeting as deemed unacceptable. In the revised proposal circulated by the European Commission to participants following that meeting, the point on collective punishment had been scrapped altogether,” Farrugia said.