The Federation of Hunters, Trappers and Conservationists (FKNK) has issued a warning to its member hunters who are out hunting, “not to react to any provocations and/or harassment that they may get from third parties.”

The FKNK named groups it was referring to in particular as “the Malta Ranger Unit, BirdLife Malta and CABS.”

FKNK advised its members that “people from these groups have no authority to enter private property, not even if they are accompanied by the police and/or any other Government officials, who on the other hand have the right they enter if, in their professional view, they believe that there is a need.”

It went on to tell its members to document any instances and that “if any person from these groups actually enters any private property without the permission of the owner and/or the hunter who has a permit to be there for hunting, the owner and/or the hunter must immediately make a report of “trespassing and pretended rights” at the District Police Station which is, if it can be accompanied by any photo/s and/or video/s of the person/s who have/have entered without permission.”

The documenting includes “if and or any person/s from these groups sit and take any photo/s and/or video/s of an owner and/or the hunter who has a permit is there to hunt on that private land without the permit of the owner and/or the hunter, even if not through the same private land but from a public road/trail/passage, then the owner and/or the hunter must take photo/s and also video/s of the person who is, and continues to make a report of “harassment” to the District Police Station with the photo/s and video/s he has taken.”

The FKNK concluded its message to members by saying it is “ready to receive a copy of any such report made to the police in order to assess the situation and even intervene to help the member if it feels the need, always with the member’s permission.”

“The MRU is in no way against hunting as a hobby”

The Malta Ranger Unit, in response to the FKNK warning to its members, issued a statement saying that, “the MRU is in no way against hunting as a hobby. On the contrary, the role of our Rangers is to be completely neutral and simply inform the Public about subsidiary legislation 549.42, which deals with the rights of hunters as well as their obligations.”

The MRU Rangers also stated the its Rangers “do not enter private land. Our organisation condemns anyone who breaks the law in this regard and stresses that there should be no unauthorised entry into private property/land. On the contrary, we often assist private landowners on this issue (trespassing) by educating the Public.”

“It was precisely for this reason that we also made a call for the owners to mark their land on our Google maps (without showing their private details), as well as after a request made by several hunters, we added the layers for areas where hunting is not allowed,” the MRU said.

“As stated in our statute, no individual who is in a public space should be filmed unless he has committed a criminal act, or else there is clear indication that a criminal act will occur. This is done so that the evidence, which is crucial for a criminal case, is preserved,” the MRU said.

“Our NGO does not publish videos online that could reveal the identity of the accused, nor does it reveal the location where the alleged crime took place. The videos and details will ONLY be given to the authorities concerned and we will leave it to the Maltese Court process to inform the public about the details of the criminal case,” it said.

The MRU stressed that “the documentation of poaching is a small part of our work. A large part of the crimes we observe and report are crimes such as fires near trees and dumping or burning waste. The reports made by our Rangers about these acts were well received by the public, including the hunters.”

“Our organisation makes a clear distinction between illegal and legal hunting (according to Maltese Law), and will continue to do so. The presence of our Rangers in the Maltese countryside should not be feared by those who care about the conservation of the environment, but on the contrary it should be welcomed,” the MRU said.

The Rangers said that “together with the public we will continue to work according to our statute in order to protect the Maltese countryside and environment from environmental criminals, by educating, being of service and acting with professional conduct.”

The MRU concluded by saying that it hoped that “this statement clarifies any doubts that the FKNK may have had about our operations and that we can start working together to ensure that nature is respected by everyone who loves to enjoy the green open spaces.”

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