[WATCH] Coalition only targeting abolition of spring hunting

The coalition for the abolition of spring hunting reassured it is not for a total abolition of hunting throughout the year but just against spring hunting.

Yesterday, the coalition submitted its petition to call for an abrogative referendum, signed by 44,000 people. The coalition confirmed that 40,351 of those appear on the electoral register.

Steve Micklewright on hunting referendum

The signatures represent 10% of the registered voters as required by the law for a referendum to be held.

"This petition is about defending birds and giving citizens the right to access the countryside. Every general election we have the hunting lobby telling political parties that if they don't get their privileges, they won't be getting their vote," coalition spokesman Christian Debono said.

Debono said the majority if Maltese were against spring hunting, corroborated by polls: "The. Maltese want to enjoy Spring in the countryside and seeing birds migrating over our islands," he said.

Debono added that signatories to the petition believe that the secret deals the hunting lobby has made with successive governments to gain more privileges is not how a democracy should wor

The Electoral Commission will now verify the petition signatures and begin the process that will lead to a referendum.

The documentation would then be presented to the Constitutional Court and a public hearing would be held to listen to both objections to the referendum and those in favour.

Reacting to parliamentary secretary Roderick Galdes for a unifying force between the hunters and the environmentalists, BirdLife executive director Steve Micklewright said BLM was ready to work where there was common ground - mainly illegal hunting. "There is obviously no common ground on spring hunting as we oppose it," he added it.

He also said that the coalition was not against a total ban of hunting, something which effectively could not be done: "We don't want to abolish hunting, just spring hunting which is damaging."