FKNK accuses BirdLife of ‘wanting to hijack elections’

Hunters' federation FKNK and St Hubert's Hunters (KSU) accused the environment NGO BirdLife Malta of wanting to "hijack the elections".

BLM, who on Saturday launched its campaign for the general elections, have accused the political parties of having turned Malta into a "hunters' paradise".

In a sarcastic reaction to BirdLife's campaign, FKNK and KSU said that the thousands of hunters and trappers and their families "are not third-class citizens as the new political party, BirdLife Malta, is trying to suggest in the launch of their electoral campaign".

FKNK and KSU also doctored BLM's poster to replace the shotgun with a pencil, added the phrase "though some do try to hijack elections... BirdLies" and "hunters and trappers your vote counts".

In a statement, FKNK secretary general Lino Farrugia and KSU secretary David Borg Cardona said their respective associations have not yet "uttered a single word on the 9 March elections, and yet BLM is accusing us of hijacking elections".

The associations went on to accuse BLM of "attempting to hijack this election".

"BLM has made it clear to everyone that Malta needs a serious ornithological society rather than an anti-hunting group desperately seeking support," they said.

They also urged their member that their votes as Maltese and Gozitan citizens counted.

"In due course, and as has always been done before every general election, the outcome that may result from any discussions with the two main political parties will be made public," Farrugia and Borg Cardona said in a joint statement.