Wild birds not the sole prerogative of BirdLife Malta, hunters' lobby claims

Wild birds are not the sole prerogative of BirdLIfe Malta, and the organisation was being arrogant beyond belief in blocking public access to nature reserves, the Federation of Hunters, Trappers and Conservationists (FKNK) claimed on Sunday.

In a statement on Saturday, BirdLife Malta called on the public to stop feeding the 12 mute swans currently sheltered in Marsalforn Valley in Gozo, and announced that access to the site had been limited as the birds were displaying signs of distress because of all the public attention they were attracting.

FKNK asked why the authorities were allowing BirdLife Malta volunteers to access the site when they were not allowing the public and other organisations inside the police cordon.

“BirdLife Malta is not the only local organisation qualified to deal with birds,” it said. “The authorities should stop bowing to BirdLife Malta at every occasion.”

The federation also questioned the government verterinaries’ conclusion that the swans were weak, when all the video clips and photos published in the seven days the birds had been in Malta showed them flying around without any signs of fatigue or distress.

“Where was BirdLife in the first four days after the swans arrived in Malta, and why did it only enter the picture at the end of the week, only to come out ordering people what to do and how to behave?”

FKNK criticised the fact the BirdLife Malta volunteers were not only allowed to feed the swans but were even free to approach the words directly.

“The truth is that BirdLife Malta was expecting some incident to occur and could not stand the fact that nothing had happened to the swans,” FKNK claimed.

It praised its members for the constant monitoring of the swans, and singled out a young hunter who saved one of the adult swans that had been attacked by a Muschovy duck after flying onto another pond.