A group of NGOs have called for full transparency and demanded a meeting with Prime Minister Robert Abela over a plan to turn the public woodland spaces of Miżieb and L-Aħrax into hunting reserves.

The plan will reportedly see the government pay hunting lobby FKNK tens of thousands of euros to manage the areas, clear it of alien species and hire nature wardens to combat littering. In return, the woodlands will be formalised as hunting reserves during the spring and autumn hunting seasons.

In a statement, the coalition of NGOs questioned the secrecy of the deal, noting that it was only thanks to the media that it was brought to public knowledge.

“In this particular moment, when most of the country is self-isolating at home, we find it appalling that a lobby can be given two large open spaces such as these, without proper consultation and in total secrecy,” they wrote.

“This is not the lobbying transparency we have been promised. Moreover, government does not have an electoral mandate to hand over open spaces to lobbies.”

The NGOs also called for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minster and Environment Minister “in view of the apparent lack of opposition to this project from within Cabinet itself.”

In the meantime, they call for the decision to be postponed until proper public consultation is held, seeing as the proposal “not only bypassed the Lands Authority but also ignored the sentiments of the general public.” 

The statement was signed by 14 NGOs including Movement Graffiti,  Din L-Art Ħelwa, Extinction Rebellion, Birdlife Malta and Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar.

This year’s spring hunting season proved particularly controversial, as Cabinet gave the go-ahead and issued 6,000 hunting licenses despite the authorities urging people to stay indoors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Birdlife Malta filed a police report for the suspension of these licenses, arguing that the fact they were issued by the Gozo Minister and not the Environment Minister meant they were in breach of EU law. However, the police said there is no grounds for an investigation and suggested BirdLife challenge the validity of the licenses in court. 

Do you agree with the NGOs?