'Das Beste'/Best of Europe

Malta is a country composed of three small islands in the middle of the Mediterranean, 100 kilometers south of Sicily.

Malta has one of the world's highest number of hunters per capita, who shoot and kill any bird that flies. The skies over Malta and the surrounding sea are devoid of birds. Each year, 3 million birds are shot or trapped on Malta while migrating between Africa and Europe in the spring and autumn, leading to a gradual decline of these beloved European birds that traditionally seek refuge in Malta.

The Maltese hunters have all but destroyed the country’s namesake, the Maltese falcon. In 1982, hunters on the island of Ghawdex shot the last pair of nesting Maltese falcons, also known as peregrine falcons. Every year the hunters also trap millions of wild songbirds that die needlessly shortly after being caged. Politically, these hunters have won the upper hand through bullying tactics. They are organized and have intimidated political parties, governments and environmentalists.

Since 1994, successive governments have relaxed the hunting laws to a point that enforcement no longer exist. A battle has begun in Malta against the government and hunters bent on the destruction of these migratory bird populations for mindless fun.

As a bird-lover and potential tourist to Malta, we ask you to help shift the government’s focus from the birds’ destruction to their part in a successful new economy for Malta, eco-tourism. The tourist industry supports 40% of the Maltese economy and it is the largest industry in Malta. Without the tourist trade, the Maltese economy will not survive. We want you to tell the Maltese government to stop the violent, unnecessary hunting of migratory birds through official legislation, and establish laws protecting all migratory birds. We also want the Maltese government see the wisdom of protecting these birds for the ecosystem, as well as the people of Malta by promoting their presence to tourists who will come specifically to see them. The people of the world cannot remain silent. Malta does not have the right to obliterate these species of birds from the earth. We must speak for the migratory birds that have been abused, tortured and murdered by the Maltese hunters and government. I hope this action letter inspires you to do something. If you take one step, if you tell one person about these birds, write one letter - you will make an important contribution! We ask you to keep the pressure on the Maltese government and expose its cruelty in the international court of public opinion.

Please email this Malta Tourist Action letter to your email address list, and print, sign and mail one from yourself to the Prime Minister of Malta. The more letters the Prime Minister receives, the more likely it is that he will do something. That is all we are asking. Those who have already sent letters to the Prime Minister have received responses, so these letters have an impact. If you prefer, please compose one yourself.

Please email any comments or suggestions to our Mailbox Please do not email your letters to the Maltese Prime Minister to this E-mail address. Please print, sign and mail them directly to his office in Malta.

Thank you for your support of this important project.

Sincerely,

David Camilleri

Prime Minister Fenech Adami
Office of the Prime Minister
Auberge de Castille.
Valletta,
Malta.

Dear Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami,

I appreciate your administration's strong commitment to protecting the Maltese island's natural heritage. Your leadership is essential because Malta and Ghawdex lost their spectacular landscapes to the bird hunters and trappers. The Maltese Islands can be a natural refuge of wilderness, home to an abundant wildlife of countless migratory birds, but you have to act now. The bird hunters and trappers want to keep killing these migratory birds for sport. They don't do it because they have starving families to feed. They have turned your islands into a lifeless big rock as we have read that there are no varieties of birds flying in the open, big, blue sky. The defence of the migratory birds is a human rights issue as well. Human rights are not limited to abuses of the judicial system--the right to a healthy environment is fundamental. Malta is abusing the right to a healthy environment for the Maltese as well as for Africans and Europeans.

I have read that every year, millions of majestic European and African birds are killed or caged in Malta by these hunters. I feel guilty supporting this kind of cruelty. If I visit Malta as a tourist, I will be encouraging these hunters to keep on killing and caging these birds through my support of the tourist industry. However, if you promote eco-tourism by protecting these birds and promoting their presence, you will attract more tourists than ever.

We urge you to exercise the powers of your office to protect these migratory birds that we love so much, by designating the Maltese Archipelago a natural refuge and to abolish hunting and trapping.

Yours sincerely,

(Signature, Name and Address)