A huge majority of people oppose the takeover of the Miżieb and L-Aħrax woodlands by the FKNK hunters' federation, a coalition of NGOs said on Wednesday.

The Spazji Miftuħa group said that 95 per cent of respondents to a survey it ran, rue lack of transparency in negotiations being held between the government and the FKNK. 

The survey had over 680 respondents but the survey is hosted on the group's website, and it is unclear if efforts were made to make sure it is a representative sample of the population. 

The key findings are:

• 90% disagree with the hunting lobby being granted management of the sites;
• Over 95% disagree with restricting access to Aħrax and Miżieb;
• 95% think the proposal to hand over Aħrax and Miżieb to the FKNK is not transparent;
• 99% of the respondents think the public deserves more access to more open spaces.

“The results of this survey are clear for all to see. The general public is opposed to government giving two massive public open spaces to an interest group that represents only its own members,” the coalition said.

“In addition to over 15,500 signatures against this secretive deal, we can now say that our arguments are backed up by numbers. Tellingly, almost all respondents (99%) are in favour of more open public spaces being made accessible to the population, not the other way round.”

Spazji Miftuħa was set up a month ago and is backed by 60 groups and organisations. 

On Wednesday members of the Spazji Miftuħa coalition met with Prime Minister Robert Abela and Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia to discuss the proposed agreement with the hunter’s lobby and the future of the woodlands. 

Lawyer Claire Bonello said the meeting had been a productive one in which the group raised their concerns over transparency and public access with the Prime Minister, while also learning that FKNK had promised a guarantee of year-round access to the sites. 

“We have concerns with the transparency of the process of handing over a tract of land five times the size of Buskett to one lobby group in particular,” Bonello said. 

Bird Life Malta CEO Mark Sultana said authorities did not have a good track record when it came to enforcement. 

“One of our country’s biggest problems is that you may have an agreement on paper but when it comes to enforcement in practice you don’t get anything,” Sultana said. 

“The Prime Minister understood that there is a difference between groups who work for the interest of their own members and groups who want to safeguard the best interests of the public at large.” 

“He has promised there will be investment in enforcement but at the end of the day the proof is in the pudding.”