BirdLife Malta has criticised Labour MP Joe Abela's vote catching intervention in Parliament on December 10 during which Mr. Abela made several erroneous claims about BirdLife regarding the issue of hunting. Several environmental organisations including Friends of the Earth, Din l-Art Helwa, Nature Trust, GAIA, Light Pollution Awareness Group, Ramblers Association and Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar also supported BirdLife Malta's criticism of Mr. Abela's position and expressed their solidarity with BirdLife.

During his intervention Mr. Abela claimed that a BirdLife Malta booklet entitled "A spring guide to reclaiming your countryside", distributed through the Sunday Times last April, was funded by the European Union (EU). "Mr. Abela clearly forms opinion without having the necessary information as our campaign booklet was in fact funded by BirdLife Malta's thousands of members and never saw any money from EU funding," Tolga Temuge, Executive Director BirdLife Malta said.

"Furthermore, it seems as though Mr. Abela has not even understood the content of this information booklet. According to MEPA only 22% of Maltese terrain consists of natural vegetation (our countryside). And 80% of that limited countryside is open to hunting, leaving almost no room for the majority of people in this country to enjoy their countryside in peace," Temuge continued.

"When one reads his comments on law enforcement and how hunters are supposedly abused, it makes one wonder whether Mr. Abela is living in a country other than Malta. Malta is the only country in the EU that still allows spring hunting, has the longest hunting period in Europe, has the highest density of hunters per square kilometre and has only a mere 22 ALE officers to check illegal hunting. Mr. Abela is more than welcome to join BirdLife Malta volunteers during the peak migration period to witness firsthand the illegal killing of protected species and the occupation of our countryside," Temuge said.

In reference to a current court case where the defendant is a hunter, Mr. Abela made a call for an independent judiciary, claiming baselessly that the judiciary seems to be influenced by BirdLife Malta, the Maltese Government and Brussels. It appears, however, that it is Mr. Abela himself who has a very strong opinion on the matter and wishes to influence the judiciary accordingly, rather than maintaining his self-professed independent stance, BirdLife Malta stated.

BirdLife Malta also reminded Mr. Abela that it was the hunting fraternity that used bullying tactics, incited violence, attacked the police and journalists and threatened anyone who disagreed with them in the past.

In addition, BirdLife Malta called on the Malta Labour Party to state whether Mr. Abela's position reflects the official party line on the issue of hunting. On October 20th BirdLife Malta had sent open letters to both the Leader of the Opposition, Dr Alfred Sant, and the Prime Minister, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, asking them to clarify their party's position on spring hunting, clearly and unequivocally. To date, BirdLife has received no reply from both leaders.

"Mr. Abela is clearly playing the hunting card to try to secure his seat in Parliament in the next legislature. Backing the hunting fraternity might pay off for him in his constituency but whether it would do the same for the Malta Labour Party remains to be seen. Maltese politicians cannot continue to ignore the overwhelming majority who are against spring hunting and who are united in much greater numbers when it comes to an issue regarding the protection of our natural environment," Temuge concluded.