‘..Hunters are actually a powerful and single-minded lobby group, arguably the most influential one after that of real estate developers…’

Hear hear.

Everybody reads what they want in the referendum: motivations, consequences, implications, political agendas, etc. That is all subjective, however.

The only thing we know for certain is that we’ll be voting to stop the killing of quail and turtle doves in spring.

Then, if we want to go beyond the birds, the only sure significance of the referendum is that it challenges the hegemony of hunters.

They portray themselves as a beleaguered minority but the real minority here are the environmentalists. Hunters are actually a powerful and single-minded lobby group, arguably the most influential one after that of real estate developers.

You’re mistaken, Il mice. Joseph Muscat and Simon Busuttil are unfortunately equally consistent on this issue.

And I take the opportunity to shoot down the argument that if we voted for EU accession, we voted for spring hunting.

Well, here’s the thing: with or without EU membership we would still have spring hunting. So what choice did we have?

Actually, many of those who voted Yes in the EU referendum imagined that the EU would pressure our government to abolish spring hunting. We were mistaken.

But of course I would still have voted Yes to EU membership for lots of other important reasons.

Are you implying the electorate is stupid, Observer?

Ah ha, yes, but some of them are flying north for the heck of it, Chris. I think our hunters should be allowed to shoot them down.

Yes, of course I’m serious. And there is also the gender factor – we can afford a few less male turtle-doves to females.

I think a spirit-of-the-Union referendum would also include sexual preferences, size, age – but we’re not there yet.

It is very easy to identify those intent on breeding.

1. They usually fly in pairs.

2. They trail a number of ribbons tied to their tails with a sign “Just partnered”.

What does that even mean? Birds fly north to breed in spring, hence the referendum to ban spring hunting

It’s about punishing a lobby and a section of the population that we’ve been relentlessly conditioned to despise, not that they’ve done themselves any favours on the PR front.

It’s about flagging Alternattiva Demokratika’s waning existence, not that it will translate to any significant inroads at the polls.

It’s about stroking Saviour Balzan’s rabid ego, much as that other misfit Pullicino Orlando’s in the divorce referendum.

Add to that the other pseudo environmentalists like Astrid and Co.

It’s about an attractive causa bellum for the English-language newspapers which use it to fill their pages as if there wasn’t any other relevant news.

[Daphne – Casus belli, not causa bellum. And because the instinctive translation of that is ‘beautiful cause’ or ‘beautiful house’, we’ll have to explain that it’s Latin incorporated into English for the thing or event which provokes, or is used to justify, a war.]

If you want to know why the turtle dove population in the UK is dwindling, then you would find that it coincided with the establishment of the ubiquitous collared dove, which displaced it, much as the grey squirrel displaced the red.

It would coincide with the hedgerows being ploughed down to form mega fields.

It would coincide with the EU’s decision to reverse the policy where farmers were paid to leave 10% of their land fallow.

The land chosen by the farmers was naturally the least arable, normally swamps, hedgerows and moors. Now they are being paid to maximise arable land.

It would coincide with the introduction of organic farming, especially organic cattle husbandry where meadows are mowed relentlessly.

Shooting takes its toll too, but if anyone really believes that the odd 20,000 birds shot here have any significance compared with the four million shot by the rest of Europe then you’d believe that the Maltese population is in danger of extermination by abortions carried out in the UK.

The argument that this should not take place in spring is countered by the fact that in the UK one can shoot various birds such as wood pigeon, collared dove, Canada goose and others even when they are on the nest.

And before anyone counters that these are pests, that’s just crap. They’re a big business and farmers sow game crops to specifically attract these birds. I find this shooting in summer abhorrent.

Most of the population voting have never seen a quail except on their plate at some tacky Mgarr restaurant on one of their idea of daring outings. They wouldn’t recognise a quail in the wild if it rained down on them in biblical proportions.

No I don’t think that the turtle dove is in anyone’s mind. Thanks for allowing my anorak rant moment.

[Daphne – As it happens, I just love your penultimate paragraph. “One of their idea of daring outings.” Perfect description. Going off to the wilds of Mgarr and Bidnija to eat strange birds and animals like rabbit and quail with the savages on Pyrex plates. Live dangerously and so on.]

Are you suggesting that the referendum should ask if we should agree on hunting down every gay turtle-dove?