Updated | NO camp says spring hunting takes over 80% of Maltese countryside

A spokesperson for the SHout campaign to abolish spring hunting has issued a strong rebuttal to a statemement by a local hunting association in which it claimed that that no access to public property was being limited by hunters.

The original statement issued by the hunting organisation Kaccaturi San Ubertu (KSU) earlier this afternoon, called on the Shout campaign to “clarify which parts of the countryside they intend returning to the people since, other than private or leased land, the remainder already belongs to the people”.

The brief, but testy statement, which describes the NO campaign as “provocative”, added that “following the insistence of the SHout campign that a NO vote victory will return the countryside to the people.  Kaccaturi San Ubertu would primarily like to remind this lobby group that hunters are also people and unlike certain people, many of them have invested their monies in purchasing or leasing land for their enjoyment.”

The statement, signed by KSU president Mark Mifsud Bonnici, claims “that other than bird reserves or sanctuaries no other public property where hunting is practiced is fenced off”.

However SHout was quick to refute the argument.

In a reply issued shortly after the statement by KSU, the campaign pointed out that in spring, hunting is currently permitted in “almost 80% of the Maltese countryside, even in publicly owned land such as Il-Majjistral Nature and History Park, Miżieb and Aħrax”.

The reply goes on to claim that the presence of hunters with guns and dogs coupled with occasional showers of lead pellets, is intimidating to walkers and families, “keeping them out of the countryside during the best time of year”.

“A 'no' vote on 11 April will free our public land from hunting in spring, allowing people to enjoy the countryside free from fear and intimidation, and allowing  nature to flourish,” read the statement.