rayBond , jien ktibt li jien ma’ nemminx li kaccatur jew nassab se joqghod jintilef jikteb kartelluni u swastiki fejn ikun qieghed. L-unika haga li naf li jafu jiktbu hi RTO. Rigward art li qed titiehed minn individwi kull ma’ trid taghmel irrapporta d-dipartiment ta’ l-artijiet.
Probabilment issib li l-art li ghalik kienet pubblika hi art privata li kien jidhol fiha l-pubbliku.

@John Schembri

Rigward l-RTO ta’ fuq l-irdum ta’ Had-Dingli taf inti li dik sa ftit snin ilu kienet kollha art pubblika. Sistematikament, nies bla kuxjenza u dekor, partikolarment, nassaba, ikkapparraw l-art u bnew cnut illegali fejn qablilhom. Wara naturalment, l-art in-kwestjoni qed tidher li hi privata, meta fil-verita’ m’hix!!!

Joe, both extremes are wrong. It’s wrong to have a free for all but it’s also wrong to expect hunters to go cold turkey. You cannot compare hunting to alcoholism although for some it might be as addictive.

Hunting and trapping were not illegal and when I was young. They were normal pastimes, even for kids, but not for me. I was and still am in favor of more restrictions and control but I think that everything needs to be done using some sensitivity and common sense.

I would have first and foremost attacked illegal hunting heavily making examples of those who flaunt the law. I would have started to restrict gradually and educate at the same time. If that were done I would have remained squarely on the side of the bird lobby. I think that the hunters could have been treated better – remember that two wrongs never made a right.

@C Falzon
Can you imagine one of those hunters (errm, or was it a farmer) with a handbag?

Naf x’ qed nghid ghax kelli incident darba u meta insistejt li igib provi li l-art tieghu hu qalli li dik imqabla ghandu, u wara irrizulta li il-qbiela ilha ma tigi accetata fuq 10 snin.

Stefan , there are no clear cut rules of how to distinguish public land from private land, but here is the little I know added to what Daphne said: a land owner can construct pathways on his land (hara – first a is long) so that different owners who have fields leased (imqabbla) in that “hara” would have the right to pass along the said paths. The public has no right to use these kind of pathways.

Sometimes there are gates in pathways which define the boundary of a “hara”. One has a right to reach the foreshore through a path which is defined as to how far the waves reach the shore in a storm.

You should also know that public pathways have potholes while private pathways are well kept .

I apologise if I continue to harp on this point. Keep also in mind that I’m trying to establish what is actually permissable by Maltese law.

Daphne’s point on cultivated land is valid. Common sense dictates that cultivated fields are privately owned unless some individual has decided to “squat” and plant crops (unlikely, though I do remember a case of a field in Gozo with long lines of marijuana plants merrily growing “wild”). I certainly would not think of taking a stroll down a cultivated/tilled field.

However, I still can’t agree that one should assume land as private if one has no sure knowledge of it being public. I confess that apart the common sense situations pointed out by Daphne and clearly marked boundaries, I would not be able to differentiate between public and private land.

If I had to follow your directive, I will find myself walking on the concrete pavements in the same urban sprawl I am trying to occasionally escape from.

[Daphne – There is a simple rule to follow. If a person does not want you on his land, he will put up a fence or a wall to keep you out. If there is no such barrier, then it follows that he doesn’t mind you going through or even having a picnic. There are some exceptions, but as a general rule, this is a safe assumption. Cultivated fields rarely have walls or fences around them, but the fact that they are cultivated is in itself a signal to people to keep off. If the fields are lying fallow, then farmers don’t mind if you walk across them. But few fields are left fallow nowadays.]

Stefan, if you don’t know whether the land is private or public, just assume that it’s private.

[Daphne – Maybe we should talk about cultivated land instead, John. Most people don’t mind if somebody traipses across their rough land, if they haven’t bothered to put up any walls or fences.]

People sometimes conveniently state that certain land is ‘nobody’s land’ (m’hi ta’ hadd) because it’s not well kept; this is not a good enough reason to enter that land even from a path. No need to be a lawyer for common sense.

No need to have RTO, just respect the land owners’ right to enjoy their property in peace.

Mandy, I have friends in Ferrara who tell me that in certain areas of Comacchio you can get shot at by poachers if you dare enter certain good areas for fishing. So much for Italian self discipline.

Erm excuse me Daphne, but why exactly is Manwel Dimech jaqq?

I think his life story is amazing. If it was politicized decades after his death by Mintoff as a Socialist icon, it obviously has nothing to do with him.