Just what do you really mean by " the fowls of the air belong to all nations" ? Are you refering by any chance to the Woodpigeon which can be legally hunted in Britain all year round !! Get down off your high horse and stop throwing stones. You're in a very,very large crystal villa !!

Robert Sultana, Naxxar, Malta

Give us a break, will you? In England, one can shoot woodpigeon, canada geese, crows, rooks, jays, magpies etc. 24/7, 365 days a year, together with several species of gulls, rabbits and foxes. The UK has umpteen derogations on this matter. We are simply asking for the right to shoot 2 SPECIES of prolific and non-threatened birds - the turtle dove and quail - for 1 to 1.5 months in Spring. BIG DEAL. Illegal poaching and the shooting of protected species is another matter entirely - and this happens EVERYWHERE. Since Malta is so small, everything is visible and reported, sensationalised, exaggerated and publicised by the Birdie extremists to do maximum damage. Yet raptors are shot in the UK (did someone mention Sandringham??!!!!), poisoned in Germany etc. etc, There are NO VIRGINS here.....just glasshouses .......better not throw too many stones!

Andrew Gatt, Siggiewi, Malta

Better for the UK to look at their own backyard. Or is hunting of fox permissible because it is carried out by "Lords" and "Gentlemen". Ugh, I hate hypocrisy as much (if not more) as hunting! If bird hunting in Malta should be stopped, fox hunting in the UK should stop too!

Claudia Borg, St. Lucia, Malta

Briton, on the other hand, should not comment any further on this fact because in this country filled with hypocrites one of the main sports for the upper class is shooting foxes (it is a tradition). So please do not try to patronise us. The first thing that you should do is clean your countries first. [p2]

george, Egham,

The road to reason has been a long time in arriving. The barbaric slaughter of our collective wildlife in the name of "sports culture" shuld be consigned to the pages of history for once and for all.

Michael Fitzgibbons, Barnsley, England

Yes, sadly, the majority of us Maltese are against hunting but still the authorities seem oblivious to this fact. They lied to hunters to get their votes prior to EU accession saying that hunting would remain, even though many were saying the contrary.

I urge the EU to hit down hard on our Government to send the message we have been trying to get across to our governments ever since we joined the EU... Hunting must stop!

Lucy Pace, Sliema, Malta

Here, Here I say. It is long past time for the International Community to bring this hideous behavior to light around the world and cause the Maltese Government some real embarassment if they don't take steps to halt this wasteful destructive slaughter at once. Shooting internationally migrating songbirds for sport is or should bean international crime. It is no ones right to take down these birds for sport or for any reason. This must be halted Post Haste. Spread this story far and wide.

Jim Fitzpatrick, Hastings, USA/MN

This is totally appalling and must be stopped. Time for the EU to do something useful for once!

Sue Shaw, Morpeth, UK

Spain does it too.

Thomas Goodey, Cuxton-upon-Medway, England