Army drafted in to guard nature reserves

The secretariat for rural affairs and animal rights confirmed this afternoon that soldiers are being used to enforce hunting regulations. In a statement, it said it was disappointed by the 'unfair criticism' of BirdLife Malta after the government used the army's services to continue to enforce the hunting regulations. The government said its decision showed that while it allowed hunting according to the regulations, it was not prepared to tolerate illegalities. "The use of a number of soldiers to guard the boundaries of nature reserves has permitted the police to monitor other areas more effectively," the secretariat said.  The ministry wondered what the reaction would have been had the number of people deployed to enforce regulations had actually been reduced. Earlier, BirdLife Malta said that up to 28 soldiers had been made available to assist the police in controlling spring hunting. Since Tuesday, Spring Watch teams encountered soldiers in Delimara and in the Foresta 2000 Bird Sanctuary. The soldiers were armed with automatic assault rifles to keep illegal hunters at bay, the NGO said. "The armed forces have been called in despite the government continuing to claim that the...