1 comment.Hindus urge tourism boycott if illegal hunting continues
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Expressing shock at the reported illegal spring bird hunting and trapping in Malta, Hindus worldwide have urged the immediate intervention of the European Union.
Rajan Zed Zed, who is President of the Universal Society of Hinduism, said that the world did not understand why the Maltese Government was allowing the hunting to continue, including the widespread killing of some protected, threatened and rare bird species. Zed urged the Maltese Government to “wholeheartedly” end this illegal tradition.
Zed pointed out that thousands of migratory birds which flew through Malta on their path to breeding places in Europe were a world heritage and did not belong to Malta or any other particular country. Malta should not be allowed to shoot these valuable bird species for whose protection millions were being spent, and if it continued, the EU should institute some kind of tourism boycott of Malta, Zed added.
Zed urged the Maltese President Dr. George Abela and Prime Minister Dr. Joseph Muscat to efficiently and effectively act on this issue, which was urgently needed and was long overdue. Malta, which lies on the strategic European-African bird migration route and was said to have the highest density of hunters per square mile in Europe, should show strong political will.
Zed asked for effective implementation of the conservation laws in Malta. The majority of the Maltese people, who were not hunters or trappers, should voice their opinions about these crimes against biodiversity.
We are working hard on advising would be tourists to Gozo and Malta to boycott their visit for the time being till the Maltese Government step up the law and stop the hunting and shooting of migrating birds permanently, failing this our wardens are keeping a sharp eye of potential law breakers on both islands mainly in the south of the Gozo area as we were informed, we urge anyone including foreigners to take pictures as evidence of such actions.