The Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting today announced that it is continuing the process of verifying the 43,000 signatures it has gathered to call for a referendum to abolish spring hunting on the Maltese islands.

The Coalition Members are: Alternattiva Demokratika, Birdlife Malta, Coalition for Animal Rights, Din l-Art Helwa, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Gaia Foundation, Greenhouse Malta, International Animal Rescue Malta, Malta Organic Agriculture Movement (MOAM). Moviment Graffiti, Nature Trust, Ramblers Association of Malta .

Coalition Spokesman Christian Debono said, “We would like to thank all of the people who have helped to gather signatures for the petition and reassure everyone that wants the referendum to take place that we are working hard to ensure it happens as soon as feasible.”

The next stage in the process is to submit the petition to the Electoral Commission.

Mr Debono siad, “We want to make sure that once the petition has been submitted to the Electoral Commission, everything goes smoothly. That is why we are determined to verify every signature.”

Meanwhile, some people are continuing to collect signatures and it is likely that the number collected will soon exceed 44,000.

Mr Debono added, “It’s not too late for anyone to sign the petition to call for the abolition of spring hunting before it’s submitted. Every extra signature counts.”

The petition is calling for an abrogative referendum to remove the legislation that allows spring hunting. The petition cannot be signed online, it must be signed by hand using the petition forms that the coalition has prepared.

Petition forms can be downloaded from the BirdLife Malta website: www.birdlifemalta.org.

Photo – Turtle Doves in flight. Photo by David Tipling/Nature Picture Library. www.davidtipling.com www.naturepl.com.

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