The hunting lobby FKNK yesterday claimed the Office of the Prime Minister and the foreign minister were paying travel expenses for foreign witnesses who will testify against hunters in court.
The FKNK accused the government of attacking the hunting community after it learned in court that the ministries would be paying the travel expenses for witnesses to testify in cases of alleged illegal hunting.
“At this delicate stage, where hunting and trapping is once again becoming prominent on the eve of the MEPs’ election, it is shameful that the government itself is paying travel and accommodation for these foreign witnesses,” the FKNK said in a statement.
“This behaviour does not befit the Nationalist candidates, since while the Prime Minister is claiming he has ‘stuck his neck out’ for hunters, the government is actually working together with foreigners against hunters,” FKNK spokesperson Lino Farrugia said.
The case concerns charges of illegal hunting brought against hunters apprehended during the spring season, which was closed this year.
Malta is currently defending its case for having opened the spring hunting season four years in a row, without applying for a derogation from the Birds Directive, in the European Court of Justice.
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