When all the participants fell to the ground with the sound of bullets, a powerful banner was picked up and showcased for all onlookers to see.

The banner had a photo of a dead protected bird, illegally hunted in Malta, and a separate photo of Abela with a somewhat wicked-looking smile near it.

“Dan id-demm fuq idejk, Robert Abela,” which translates to “This blood is on your hands,” was written above the bird to stress that the illegal hunting of protected birds is the PM’s “fault and responsibility.”

Apart from this, there was another banner that isn’t shown in the footage calling for “courage against those that break the law.”

During the last few years, bird protection laws started being systematically weakened in order to make sure that hunters “get away with murder,” the NGO wrote.

Laws such as that regulating taxidermy have been amended to make them “unenforceable,” while others like the Wild Rabbit hunting law were amended to set up “clear loopholes” for hunters to be able to hunt birds during closed seasons, it continued.

During bird migration, the endemic illegalities increased because of the influx of protected birds. However, this was further aggravated when Abela “gave in” to a lobby’s demand to remove the curfew on hunting birds that previously allowed protected birds to roost safely.

But, due to this change, shooting these birds as the sun sets down and while they are finding places to roost has become common practice for hunters.

“The government remains dormant on the main cause of the problem, which is taxidermy, and the inherited situation of large collections of birds owned by hunters which were granted amnesties in the past.”

“The vetting system of these collections was stopped over 10 years ago while hunters continue to transfer birds between them, even if it is illegal to do so. This illegality was also given an amnesty by Minister Clint Camilleri with the blessing of Abela when he issued a legal notice, without consulting the ORNIS Committee, a few days before the last general election”

The environmental NGO went on to argue that both Abela and Camilleri are so “bent backward to appease the hunting lobby” that they managed to reduce the resources of the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) of the Malta Police Force while Gozo remains an area where the EPU is not allowed to operate.

This, they continued, comes at a time when the European Commission has not only opened infringement proceedings in regard to all of Malta’s hunting and trapping derogations but has also initiated a similar legal action on the lack of enforcement to protect birds as stipulated by the European Birds Directive.

“The attitude adopted by Abela to continue appeasing the hunting lobby at all costs has fuelled the feeling within hunters that they are untouchable and can do what they want, even breaking the law, knowing they are unlikely to pay the price. This is the Prime Minister’s fault and it is high time he takes full responsibility for the matter!”

Do you think that the demonstration was powerful?