Hunters’ federation FKNK has wished “all hunters a good and safe season for hunting turtle dove.” The season opened today.
The FKNK in a statement said that this has “only been possible as a result of the various relevant scientific and technical documents with which FKNK representatives persuaded the Ornis Committee to recommend lifting of the five-year moratorium on spring turtle dove hunting.”
The federation added that, “this documentation also served as the main source of assistance that FKNK offered to the Government and its legal team, in addition to forming the basis for the case and helped convince the Court to reject the BirdLife Malta injunction case.” [1]
The FKNK urged hunters “not to waste time and energy and to ignore empty and void statements currently being circulated by a particular entity that has neither the necessary experience, nor the necessary European and International contacts, or resources, both professional and financial, to do something concrete in the present circumstances.”
Instead, the FKNK said, “hunters should now enjoy the season while contributing to the FKNK Sustainability Index Exercise by filling out information on the relevant forms.”
It concluded that, “the eventual outcome of the Exercise should add another sustainable tool for turtle dove conservation.”