Hunting inside nature reserve claims untrue - FKNK

The hunters’ federation this evening denied claims by BirdLife Malta that it had photographed two men hunting inside the Għadira Nature Reserve protected buffer zone. In a statement, the FKNK said the top left of BirdLife’s photo showed a concrete platform from World War II, indicating the exact location of the hunters. BirdLife’s photo showed that the two men were not in the buffer zone but in the proximity of Popeye Village, the FKNK said.  It said that, at that spot there were no maps, signs, sign- posts, border fencing or indications of a nature reserve. “It is to be noted that, while hunting there, one can easily find oneself close to, or perhaps even inside, the forbidden zone without being aware. “Therefore, we consider it very unfair to cry foul, alert the ALE police, and publish photographs in the newspapers of people, giving the impression that these two particular hunters are guilty of violating a nature reserve. “This is just another example of BirdLife Malta resorting to manipulative tactics and hyping up the situation in the media, purely to reach their declared objective of banning spring hunting at all costs,” the FKNK said.