A new agreement that will hand management of the Miżieb and Aħrax woodlands to hunters will change nothing, including public access to the area, a representative of the Miżieb Hunting Reserve informed Lovin Malta.

The controversial government plan made headlines yesterday with many, including Mellieħa councillors and environmental activists, criticising the agreement for not divulging any details before it is set to be signed between hunter lobby group FKNK and the Lands Authority and ERA this Sunday.

It has proven to be so controversial that a petition was launched earlier today to “Keep Malta’s Public Spaces Public” and has received over 19,000 signatures so far.

However, a member of Miżieb Hunting Reserve informed Lovin Malta that “nothing will change” and that the woodland areas will continue to remain public.

In response as to why no details have been revealed, the representative stated that there are currently “teething” issues that have to be ironed out before the agreement is signed this Sunday.

Late last year, a forested area within Miżieb was severely damaged in what is being called “a targeted attack on the hunting community”.

Around 12 to 15 hunting hides were vandalised and destroyed, including one which was burnt down, requiring the fire brigade to intervene to stop the spread of the fire to nearby trees.

In response to the act of vandalism, the Miżieb Hunting Reserve called for the introduction of some type of warden to help prevent these dangerous situations, in addition to other issues that plague the forest, including the copious amount of illegal dumping.

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