Hunting lobby CEO suspended from Ornis Committee after assault

FKNK chief executive Lino Farrugia has suspended himself from the ORNIS Committee after an alleged assault on the Wild Birds Regulation Unit’s head Richard Lia during an argument on Wednesday.

“One augurs the situation is addressed from a just perspective, and no one tries to gain any capital from this incident,” the FKNK said on Facebook.

The meeting was set to discuss legal changes to Malta’s bird-ringing rules, which Farrugia’s FKNK are seeking so as to include the hunting fraternity as registered bird ringers.

BirdLife Malta, also members of the ORNIS Committee, reported the assault in a statement in which it expressed shock at the aggressive attitude and physical attack by Farrugia following an argument with Lia.

The incident led to the ORNIS chairman having to suspend the meeting.

In its statement, the hunting federation apologised to Lia “if he felt in any way bothered by what happened” on Wednesday, insisting it will discuss the “serious incident”.

Despite the apology, FKNK have played down the incident, calling it a “small argument” which was interpreted as a “physical attack.”

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