Airgun use

I refer to the article "No change on hunting scene" appearing in the online edition (September 12) which has been brought to the attention of our Airgun Bulletin Board by a number of members in Malta.

Having lived in lovely Malta a number of years ago I am well aware that there was a hunting problem with apparently anyone who has a shotgun (and this appears to be out of all proportion to the population!) blasting away at pretty much anything in the sky.

While I would not comment on the article itself, I am rather concerned at the photograph which is of a well known (in the UK) airgun hunter, which appears to link him and the sport of airgunning with Malta's hunting problem and I believe this to be entirely inappropriate and gives entirely the wrong sort of image.

The vast majority of airgunners in this country, and I would guess our counterparts in Malta, are not actively involved in hunting and carry out target shooting and fun shooting.

While air weapons can be and are used by some people for hunting, due to their nature, relatively low-powered short-range firing a single shot, they tend to be used for vermin control on rats, squirrels, rabbits, pigeons, crows and the like. They are entirely unsuitable for hunting a moving target, particularly birds in flight.

The vast majority of airgunners are responsible, law-abiding citizens who cause no harm to anyone and anything and merely wish to be left in peace to enjoy their sport.

There is a tendency nowadays to lump airgunners together with anything to do with firearms generally and we then suffer any backlash against firearms equally and any incident involving any weapon tends to be sensationalised by the media and the public alike, with scant regard to the actual facts. Unfortunately, even if the true facts later come to light, they never get the same publicity and the damage cannot then easily be undone.

I feel the use of the photograph, however innocent, exhibits at best a sloppy attitude and at worst scant regard to the obligations owed by the quality press and journalists to their readers.

Editorial Note:
The mistake, which occurred in the picture-selection process, is regretted as is any inconvenience caused to the airgunning community both in Malta and overseas.