Over 50 Spring Hunting Out supporters joined a family walk and picnic in Dingli today, demonstrating their rights to enjoy the countryside in spring without fear or intimidation.

Mark Sultana, SHout campaign spokesperson, joined the group of ramblers, families and dog walkers saying, “on public holidays like today, many people take to the countryside with their family and friends. However during a spring hunting season, our countryside is occupied by hunters on public holidays, even on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.”

He said that, “many people trying to enjoy the countryside in public areas have been victims of intimidation and harassment, walkers find public paths illegally blocked by RTO signs, and the ground is littered with spent shotgun cartridges.”

“Dingli was the site for a particularly brutal attack on two volunteers in 2010, where hunters threw them to the ground and beat them up. While this is an extreme case, many of these people here today have their own experiences of intimidation to share.” stated Mark

He added, “Spring is the best time of year to enjoy the countryside, and people should be able to enjoy it safely without the sounds of gunshot and the fear of intimidation. The hunters still have 5 months in autumn and winter to shoot, let the rest of us have spring.”

Using the hunters own figures, SHout has calculated that “almost 80% of the countryside can be used for hunting, with Malta having one of the highest concentrations of hunters in the world at approximately 62.5 hunters per square kilometre.”

Unless the majority vote ‘no’ in the upcoming referendum, a spring hunting season will open on Tuesday 14 April, SHout warned.

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