Momentum, ADPD, BirdLife slam PL, PN over comments about hunting

Updated 4.25pm with ADPD comments

Momentum and ADPD on Wednesday slammed the PL and PN for pandering to the hunting lobby, after Nationalist leader Alex Borg and Labour minister Silvio Schembri separately said hunting and trapping will be safeguarded under their respective governments.

BirdLife Malta separately condemned what it said was a "dangerous political race to weaken environmental enforcement".

Addressing a mass meeting in Gozo on Tuesday, Borg hit out at Labour’s “scaremongering” about the party’s past track record on the topic. 

Meanwhile, the Malta Ranger Unit flagged a video on social media in which Schembri promises the protection of hunters' rights.

The economy minister tells those present for the meeting that, as promised, the authorities had opened the hunting season, and even though the government did not promise to do the same for the trapping season, the latter had still been opened.

"It is now time to take the next step, especially when it comes to fines and the lifetime revocation of licenses, including those whose licenses have been revoked."

He urged them to make sure they elect Labour to government, which he said was "the only government that guarantees the upholding of hunters' and trappers' rights".

"All the currents are against us, as always, from abroad and from Malta, but despite this, we continue moving forward."

The MRU said the minister's comments were not only a disgrace to environmental protection, but also highly disrespectful to lawful Maltese hunters, the Malta Police and the Law Courts. 

Last year, PL MP and former party president Ramona Attard added her voice to that of the Federation for Hunting and Conservation in calling for better proportionality in punishments handed down to hunters and trappers after a man was fined €5,000 for illegal bird trapping.

FKNK's president, Lukas Micallef, had called for penalties that are proportionate to the offence. 

'Malta urgently needs new political voices in parliament'

Reacting on Wednesday, Momentum said Schembri's statements, "suggesting that penalties imposed on hunters who illegally killed protected birds could be revoked, are particularly shocking".

Such declarations sent a dangerous message that environmental laws were optional for politically influential groups, the party said.

“When a government minister openly promises to erase penalties for people who have broken the law and destroyed protected wildlife, it undermines the rule of law and weakens the credibility of Malta’s environmental protections,” the party said.

Momentum leader Arnold Cassola added that Malta has long suffered from a culture where both major parties placed electoral calculations above the protection of nature and biodiversity.

He said that illegal hunting and trapping continued to damage Malta’s international reputation and threatened species that are protected across Europe.

Referring to Borg's comments, Cassola said both parties continued to treat environmental protection as secondary whenever they believed that pandering to powerful lobbies could deliver electoral advantage.

“The destruction of nature affects everyone - families, communities, future generations and Malta’s quality of life. Protecting biodiversity is not extremism; it is a responsibility," he said, adding that the election of a third party to parliament was the only realistic way to ensure that environmental protection, sustainability and genuine care for creation were placed at the centre of national decision-making.

“For decades, both the PL and PN have taken turns appeasing powerful interests while the environment continues to deteriorate.

"Malta urgently needs new political voices in Parliament that are willing to defend the public interest, uphold environmental laws and protect the country’s natural heritage without fear or favour.”

ADPD said the PL and the PN had left no doubt that vote‑grabbing outweighed the importance of safeguarding biodiversity and natural heritage.

ADPD spokesperson Mark Zerafa slammed the remarks by Schembri and Borg.

Schembri showed that, in pursuit of votes, the Labour Party was willing to continue doing anything, he said. 

And the Nationalist leader, during a mass meeting in Gozo, while promising the safeguard hunting and trapping, made no reference to sustainability, responsibility, or the protection of ecosystems. Nor did he mention the international treaties and laws by which Malta is bound.

"ADPD unequivocally and categorically condemns the blatant buying of votes through scandalous and irresponsible promises that any atrocity against our ecosystems can be forgiven. We promise to continue being a truly progressive voice, a voice for common sense and for the protection of our natural heritage," he said. 

BirdLife condemns 'dangerous political race' 

Meanwhile, BirdLife Malta expressed "deep disappointment and concern" at the approach adopted by PL and PN towards hunting and trapping, where it said electoral considerations appear to be taking precedence over environmental protection, the rule of law, and the wider interests of Maltese society.

"Recent statements and promises directed at the hunting and trapping sector point towards a worrying race between political parties to outbid each other with commitments that risk weakening enforcement and accountability.

"Particularly alarming are calls for the lowering of fines and penalties related to serious offences such as the shooting of protected birds and hunting or trapping during closed seasons. These are not 'mistakes'. Deliberately shooting protected birds or hunting and trapping during periods when such activities are prohibited is a conscious decision to act against the law and against Maltese society as a whole."

Such offences, it added in a statement, undermined conservation efforts, weakened respect for environmental laws and damaged Malta’s international reputation.

At a time when illegal killing of birds remained a significant concern, BirdLife questioned how reducing fines and penalties could make sense.

It said effective enforcement depended not on weakening consequences but on ensuring that the law is respected and applied fairly.

BirdLife said it was also deeply concerned by statements reportedly made by candidates suggesting that sanctions imposed on individuals who permanently lost their hunting licences after serious breaches of the law should be revisited or revoked.

"Individuals who lose their licences do so following established legal procedures and decisions taken by the competent authorities and courts.

"Public promises that individuals who deliberately broke the law and were subsequently sanctioned by the courts will have those consequences revoked, amount to, in BirdLife Malta’s view, nothing short of a promise of a presidential pardon."

It added that such declarations created the dangerous perception that penalties imposed through established legal and judicial processes could simply be undone for electoral gain. This undermined public confidence in the independence of institutions, the rule of law and the principle that justice should apply equally to all.

Equally disappointing, it said, was the position taken by the PN, which appears to have fallen into the same trap of giving hunting and trapping disproportionate political importance over the interests of the wider public and the natural environment.

"Particularly concerning are statements indicating that hunting and trapping would be safeguarded even in situations where practices may conflict with obligations arising from the EU Birds Directive.

"It is unfair, unjust and deeply disappointing to witness this political charade in this day and age. Malta deserves leadership that protects the environment, respects institutions and upholds the law equally for everyone."