Parliamentary secretary for animal rights Roderick Galdes says the government will not close the autums hunting season unless advised to do so by the hunting regulation watchdog, the Ornis Committee.
During a visit to the Noah’s Ark dog sanctuary in Mellieha which has just seen the government approve a 50,000 euros grant for animal welfare,, he told journalists,
“I would be worried if law-breakers weren’t being caught, but law enforcement is working and indeed people have been charged in court for hunting abuses, nobody is stopping the Ornis Committee from convening to discuss on a technical level whether the season should be closed or not, but we haven’t received any such recommendation from them so far.”
The Ornis Committee is chaired by anthropologist Mark-Anthony Falzon, and includes three members nominated by the government (Marco Falzon, Gwido Baldaccino and Emeline Fenech), two BirdLife officials (Mark Sultana and Nick Barbara) and two representatives from the hunting federation FKNK (Joe Perici Calascione and Lino Farrugia).
Hunting has always been a contentious subject and last year Prime Minister Joseph Muscat ordered the closure of spring hunting after a kestrel was shot and fell into the football pitch of St. Edward’s College while the students were on their lunch break.
