During a press conference this morning, in front of an ‘Iva’ campaign billboard featuring his photo, Saviour Balzan insisted that “neither he nor anyone else negotiated a spring hunting season with the EU,” condemning the ‘yes’ campaign for their personal attack.

Saviour Balzan, SHout campaign spokesperson said, “this billboard is yet another attempt by the hunters to deceive the public. The ‘yes’ campaign are saying that spring hunting is approved by the EU, and they’re saying that I negotiated this derogation. These are both outright lies. This billboard is a lie.”

“Malta never negotiated a right to derogate on spring hunting. The law gives every member state the possibility to derogate, but each derogation is subject to intense scrutiny,” he continued.

Indeed, he said, “when Malta opened the derogation for spring hunting, the European Commission stepped in and brought the case to the European Court of Justice in 2009, where Malta was found guilty of what it described as breaking EU law and failing to provide adequate protection for birds.”

“Under European Law the killing of wild birds is not permitted, though some species may be hunted as long as it does not take place during the breeding or spring migration season. When Malta joined the EU, it was agreed in the accession treaty that they would abide by all aspects of European Law. Malta is the only country in the EU to allow spring hunting for turtle dove and quail.”

Saviour Balzan also condemned the ‘yes’ campaign for their personal attacks, accusing them of “dirty tricks.” He said, “it is clear that the ‘yes’ campaign have no real argument, their only argument is that they want to keep killing birds in spring. They can’t say that, so they stoop to throwing mud at others.”

“The accession, and my part in it, took place 13 years ago. They need to let go of the past, and look at the future. The best future for Malta is one without spring hunting.”

“However,” he concluded, “this issue is now in the hands of the Maltese people, vote ‘no’ on 11 April to end spring hunting once and for all.”

Permalink: Spring Hunting Out hit back at ‘Iva’ campaign’s negative messaging