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How The Nationalist Party Dodged A Major Hunting Controversy Today

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As far as parliamentary motions go, today’s one by Partit Demokratiku MP Godfrey Farrugia was a relatively straightforward one – basically asking MPs whether they agree with a legal notice that extended the hunting and trapping hours at the Majjistral Nature Park in Mellieha. 

However, it exposed splits within the PN – with some MPs insisting the government was wrong to have extended the hunting hours against the advice of the park’s own management board and other MPs not wanting to risk angering the hunting community. 

Indeed, the PN informed its MPs via email that none of them would get to speak tonight, except for deputy leader David Agius who gave an explainer of an amendment the PN had proposed to Farrugia’s motion. 

Faced with a divergent parliamentary group, PN leader Adrian Delia tried to go halfway – proposing an amendment to Farrugia’s motion which essentially replaced the PD MP’s demand for the legal notice to be repealed with a call for widespread consultation with all stakeholders. The government supported the PN’s amendment, with environment minister Jose Herrera noting it didn’t propose any changes in the legal notice itself. 

Majjistral

The Majjistral Natural Park in Mellieha 

PN sources told Lovin Malta the majority of the parliamentary group had wanted to support Farrugia’s motion but that Delia had instead heeded the advice of MPs Clyde Puli, Hermann Schiavonne and Carm Mifsud Bonnici to vote against it and not distance the PN from the powerful hunting lobby.

An email sent by Opposition Whip Robert Cutajar to PN MPs and seen by this website shows the PN had decided that none of its MPs would speak during this morning’s debate and that the party’s participation would be limited to an explanation of the proposed amendment by deputy leader David Agius.

PN sources said at least three PN MPs had expressed willingness to defy the whip and vote in favour of Farrugia’s motion today. However, Delia was saved from such a potentially embarrassing situation by virtue of the PN’s meek amendment to the motion. Seeing as all of Labour and PN MPs voted in favour of this amended motion, no vote was taken on the original motion.

What is this contentious legal notice? 

The Majjistral Natural Park’s story dates back to 2007, when the then PN government decided to scrap its original contentious plan to build a golf course on the Mellieha land in the wake of pressure from civil society. The Majjistral Park Federation – composed of environmental NGOs Din l-Art Helwa, Gaia Foundation and Nature Trust – was set up to manage the park. In 2013, the Federation reached a compromise with the hunting community to allow hunting and trapping in the park till 10am, with school visits and tours set for after that time. 

This year, the government told the Federation of its plans to extend hunting hours to 12pm and trapping hours to 2.30pm, but the Federation flat out disagreed. However, the government was determined to see it through and published a legal notice changing hunting and trapping hours at the park in October. The park’s chairperson Sammy Vella later told MaltaToday that environment minister Jose Herrera and parliamentary secretary for animal rights Clint Camilleri had pressured the Federation to change its stance.

Pd

PD MPs Marlene and Godfrey Farrugia 

“The internal discussion was quite heated and the parliamentary group was split over whether to file the motion or not,” one MP said. “Everyone agreed in principle that the legal notice was wrong and the argument against filing a motion was solely that it will anger the hunters.”

However, the PN was forced to take a decision on the Majjistral Park legal notice after Godfrey Farrugia filed a motion himself – the first example of the new political dynamics created by the presence of a third party in Parliament.

In his speech today, Farrugia accused the PN of “choosing the path of injustice over the path of justice…for insidious reasons”. 

“The PN’s parliamentary group doesn’t seem to be capable of taking decisions and has instead proposed an amendment that solves nothing and will get us nowhere,” he said. “It is nothing but a confusing gimmick that has become characteristic of the new leadership’s style of trying to run with the hares and hunt with the hounds.”

He also tried to pull at Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s heartstrings by urging him to put himself in the shoes of a father on a day out with his children at the Majjistral Park. 

“The park’s educational officer could be teaching the children about a particular birds, while hunters will be killing birds not far away. How will you explain such a situation to your children?”

Should hunting and trapping be limited at the Majjistral Nature Park? 

READ NEXT: Adrian Delia Makes Bold Admission On Spring Hunting

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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