Spring hunting

I must, first of all, make it clear that I am not in favour of hunting in spring; I am, in fact, against any bird shooting at all.

However, I cannot allow the European Commission's faulty reasoning to pass by without comment.

I quote: "The Commission argues that the hunting of such migratory birds takes place during the return from Africa to breeding grounds in Europe, before they have had a chance to reproduce and the impact on bird numbers is therefore more significant than it would be in autumn or winter".

The birds migrating back to Europe are the same birds that flew over Malta on their way to Africa in autumn except for those that did not make it for one reason or another. The young birds shot down in autumn obviously did not have a chance to reproduce; the young birds returning to Europe in spring also had not yet had a chance to reproduce but, at least, they had enjoyed six months of living and fun in the wilds of Africa.