Target shooters warn PN’s environment amendment could 'negatively impact' sport
Association joins several others saying they had never been consulted
The Association of Arms Collectors and Target Shooters has slammed the Nationalist Party’s proposed constitutional amendment on the environment saying it could “negatively impact” the sport.
In a statement on Thursday, just hours before parliament is due to debate and vote on the PN’s proposal to enshrine the environment as a constitutional right, the AACTS said they had not been consulted on this matter.
They criticised the “vague” wording of the bill saying that “if left as is, it can negatively impact the target shooting community as well as several other interests by allowing anyone to halt proceedings without any cause until it is sorted by the courts”.
They also pointed out that other associations, clubs and federations had never been consulted. A number of them have expressed their reservations about the bill in recent days, with hunters and trappers calling the proposals “draconian”.
These follow concerns raised by the Malta Football Association and the Malta Premier League association. The Labour Party meanwhile said the opposition's bill had "serious shortcomings".
The PN insisted the proposed constitutional amendments will offer the “highest protection” to the environment and Maltese culture as it sought to quash criticisms.
Opposition leader Alex Borg had claimed that enshrining the environment in the Constitution, “supported by intelligent development and sustainable communities, we will have a more beautiful Malta and Gozo for everyone”.