Saturday, 10th October 2009 - 15:41CET
Hunters protest over teachers' attitude
A delegation from the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) has protested to Education Minister Dolores Cristina that some teachers, especially in primary schools but also in higher levels, are passing anti-hunting remarks during lessons, which in turn influence the pupils to turn against their hunter parents.
The FKNK said that the minister, who was accompanied by Dr Grace Grima, who is also responsible for the curriculum, emphasised that teachers should stick to the curriculum and refrain from making anti-hunting/trapping remarks to their pupils during lessons.
The FKNK said that during the meeting, its officials agreed to supply the Ministry of Education with a "Teachers' pack" explaining the conservation efforts of hunters and trappers in the natural environment.
They said that upon the ministry's approval the pack could be explained in more detail to teachers at seminars that could be organised for the purpose.
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Comments
Objectivity exists only in theory. Doing your job without passion and without giving your own twist to it will result in doing an unsuccessful and unmotivating job.
It is not true that Maltese hunters hunt illegally and shoot down lesser spotted eagles.
It is not true that the killers of the lesser spotted eagle are lesser human beings.
It is not true that hunters add 75 tons of poisonous lead to our agricultural land,. Thus it is not true either that our soil, vegetables, fruits and grasses, hence our milk, are prone to lead pollution.
It is not true that hunting for elephants, rhinos, whales, tigers, lions, and such animals has been abolished. Hence my lie-prophecy that one day bird hunting will be abolished may not come to pass
It is not true that quail followed manna as a staple diet for the wandering Jews in the Sinai desert.
If by "your lot" you mean 'those that defend the rights of animals including birds, I'm proud to say that I am part of that 'lot'.
Do me a big favour and never call me 'dear'... The thought that you called me dear makes me sick.
@ Mr Alex Ellul
Oh my God... Oh my God. Mr Ellul your position has been revealed by SZD!!! This discovery will be remembered till the end of days and SZD will be recognised as the one that discovered Mr. Ellul's position. We should inform BBC, CNN and also Al Jazeera. :-)
"At evening the quails came up, and the people caught with ease as many as they needed."
Well done Teachers!!!
Keep on dreaming that the minister will take the hunters' proposal... haha. I cant stop laughing.
Many things were abolished over the years. No need to give details. Hunting is going down that road.... THANK GOD.
As for the NMC, like it or not, all teachers are to abide by it! Furthermore, if the Minister decides to take up the FKNK proposal, teachers will have no option but to oblige!!!
Bla Bla Bla... Hunters need a lawyer to defend their shameful case... i think you should apply for that job. Moreover, if you offer to to that job on a voluntary basis, they would appreciate it even more. Live your life and let others (including animals) live their life.
Just the last reminder, I am abiding with what the NMC says.. I dont need your quotations to remind me about what the NMC says. I do my job very well. What counts for me is what my students and their parents say, and not what you say about me.
ADDIO!!!
Meanwhile, keep on dreaming that hunting will ever be abolished!
Now, do the following ring a bell, Sir/Madam:-
1. "Each school is endowed with a vast repertoire of skills, experiences and needs. This diversity, allied with the individual and social differences evident in the student population, enables and requires a pedagogy based on respect for and the celebration of difference."
2. "Through the curricular experience, students develop the following skills:- ....... - the ability to develop a strong character to be able to choose, decide and put into practice what they consider to be correct and just."
3. "Attitudes: .... - readiness to perceive and minimise selfish motivations in oneself."
4. "Knowledge/Information: Through a curricular experience, that includes the experience of democratic schools and classrooms, the students acquire knowledge in the following areas: ..... - lobbying in a democratic contest"
Like it or not, Sir/Madam, you are being paid from our taxes and you must abide by the above quotes from the NMC!!!
And btw, being insultive and using rude language towards others are not positive attributes for a teacher!!
I am not retreating. I am just amazed with the level of stupidity that still exists in Malta.
Regarding your children in my class, I manage my class in the way I want (always following the NMC)... you cant tell me how to do my job.
Regarding the teachers you had and about how responsible they were, anyone can see the 'excellent' result of their job in the way you express your opinion!!
I had written:"had news about whether CABS are 'clean' while roaming the countryside as well as having these same people running over a CAT and letting it die a slow painful death"
You had replied: "So, let me be a 'sport'. CABS' most despotic act of 'running over a CAT and letting it die a slow painful death'"
I replied: "Mr Alex Ellul, you have not been a 'sport' at all!! You conveniently chose to answer to one statement only, avoiding the hot topic as to whether CABS officials are 'clean' while roaming the countryside."
Now you right: "SylvanaZD: First you challenge me to be a sport and answer you on one question. I immediately take up the offer and answer you without any hesitation. Then you say that I have answered you "to one statement only".
DO YOU EXPECT TO BE CONSIDERED AS CREDIBLE, SIR?!! HAVE I CHANGED THE GOAL POSTS AS YOU ARE ACCUSING ME OF DOING? Then you take offence at being called a liar!! And you insist that you are "telling the truth"!!!!
Well, Sir/Madam, the teachers I had were responsible ones who always thought us both sides of an argument and let us decide and form our OWN opinions! Pity that these type of teachers have become scarce, not that we do not have teachers of the same calibre as those of my days. Like it or not, if my children had to be in your class you will definitely not be allowed to brainwash them!
Finally, when one is short of factual arguments, one tends to retreat!!!
You're really a person who uses irrelevant items for your discussion. Why do u question if commenting on the Times is part of the NMC??? is it just because I find the time to write while i'm at work?? Dont you live in a world?? you should know that teachers have free lessons and also have breaks! so stop using these senseless comments.
Regarding your children, now let me tell you on thing. Just as you wouldnt allow your children to be 'brain-washed' by teachers like me, I wouldnt like to have your children in my class, especially if they reason things out like their mum!
This is the last comment i'm making because i dont want to waste more time reasoning things with people like you.
I think i expressed myself very clearly.
Stating that hunters' families are against hunting is the JOKE OF THE YEAR!! To top it all, you state that you have uncomfortable evidence to prove it! Come on let us have a look at this evidence! U Hallina!!
"And you Ms. Darmanin, are also party to the anti-hunting lobby!!... " Madam, I suggest you check your mind!! If this is not fantasyland, I do not know what it can actually be. Ms Cauchi, thinking that I will ever be on the anti-hunting side is similar to your thinking that hunting will ever be abolished!! Wake up! I will persist in defending the rights to the law-abiding hunters while exposing the hypocrisy, intolerance, disrespect and non-factual arguments of the anti-hunting lobby! The ECJ ruling has given the anti-hunting lobby the first blow. We now await further developments!!!
Fantasy-aside... 14,000 +/- 200 votes is all there is to it before it ends for good and I have to correct you with a gross misconception: Hunter's families are typically the ones that oppose it most - if only they were allowed to speak freely... And that's being generous. I have plenty of uncomfortable evidence in support of my argument! ... Too much evidence!
And you Ms. Darmanin, are also party to the anti-hunting lobby!!... You just don't know it yet.... One day you will realise what I mean, (but I can't say it here) and the day after that, I *guarantee* you will be talking like the rest uf us.... It is only because you fail to realise this that you keep talking potatoes...
The time will come when you will change your mind.
Sir/Madam, I suggest you inform yourself better regarding legal hunting where the birds shot are game, i.e. these are cooked and eaten not stuffed as you state. Your comment confirms precisely the misinformation being passed on to our children by ill-informed and biased teachers.
"Regarding( to) respect to superiors and obeying the Minister," well, two wrongs do not make a right. You are duty-bound to report such actions. It is bad having teachers brain-washing our children, but likewise it is also bad if certain teachers encourage students to break the law and go out hunting while under-age. Both should be stopped!
Finally, please allow me to state that I would not allow any teacher either to brain-wash or to pass over her poor level of written English to my children!!
I also wonder whether parents are happy having teachers indoctrinating children without their parents' consent.
I really like seeing people like you trying to picture hunting as a wonderful and necessary 'sport'. I'm sorry to tell you that whatever you say, i'll stick to my idea and keep preaching to the fertile minds (thats how you expressed it) that the birds are meant for flying and not to be displayed in a unit. Just admit it Ms. Zarb Darmanin: any bird that passes over Malta is risking its death, even if it is of a protected species.
Regarding to respect to superiors and obeying the Minister, I'll just tell you that if the minister wishes us teachers to be unbiased regarding hunting, she should first take action to control those teachers that spend their lessons talking with their secondary school students about hunting and encouraging them to go hunting (even though they are under age). So before stating what the Minister should do regarding this matter, keep everything into consideration.
AMEN.
"those same people (those lesser human beings that shoot down lesser spotted eagles) that you have been trying to protect in these columns for the past years." Mr Alex Ellul, with full responsibility I accuse you of being a liar! Is this the stuff the anti's are made of? You have taken offence to certain adjectives I use in regard to the anti-hunting lobby. Well, la verita' offende! Now, I challenge you to substantiate your quote mentioned above!! Come on, JUST DO IT!! This is absolutely impossible to do Sir, as lies can never be substantiated!
FINALLY, have you conveniently opted to ignore my statements regarding CABS officials?! Come on, be a sport! I have a funny feeling that you are feeling quite embarrassed about the situation!!!
Yes Mr/Ms Camilleri, of course, you have to be guided by the NMC in your teaching profession HOWEVER you cannot impose your opinions on fertile minds! Furthermore, one has to respect his superiors, unlike a certain anti-hunting individuals who stated that he will even ignore the Minister!! If the Minister of Education accedes to the FKNK request (which I believe she should), then you, as a teacher will have to respect your superiors!!
You can "pretend" all you like,(so much for colleges, A levels, degrees and universities)
By indoctrinating your pupils that all hunting is wrong you are taking the easy and subjective way out .
In the present witch hunt atmosphere adopted by the media, attack illegalities by all means, but by showing some respect to the majority of law abiding hunters and their children instead of ostracizing them you would be doing them (your students) a better service.
I know that obtaining a degree in today's world is the norm- nothing out of this world - I work in the Education System. I did not say that you do not have any tertiary education. Frankly, I dont care. But you really interpret things the way you want. What I mean was that you have your education and you job, and I dont interfere with the way you do your job. I have my job as a teacher and I pretend that noone (and that includes you, any person that thinks like you or any hunter) can come and tell me how to do my job. I follow the NMC and as for the rest its my decision as to how I deliver the content in class.
So I dont need you to preach about respecting superiors. I'm in no way disrespecting my superios.
"hunters may practise their traditional pastime within the parameters of the law" Hellooooooo!!!!! Have you been living in Malta for the past weeks and months??? have you ever checked this website?? I guess you must have never seen the hundreds of reports of cases of illegal hunting. They shoot anything that flies. As for the referendum, The majority of the people did not vote for the EU Referendum on the basis of hunting. I'm one of those that voted 'Yes' but was not voting Pro-Hunting. So I dont know who is the 'ignorant of the fact' in this case.
Sir/Madam, obtaining a degree in today's world is the norm- nothing out of this world. "i suggest you( to) go to Junior College for 2 years to get your A' Levels, then to University for a 4 year course". Sir/Madam, how presumptuous!! What makes you think I do not enjoy a tertiary education?!
ONE THING IS FOR SURE: Whether one opts for a career in Education or whatever, NOBODY HAS A RIGHT TO IGNORE HIS SUPERIOR! That shows lack of respect and manners!!!
Its not Fantasyland... The hunters and people like you think that we're still living in the times where hunters can do whatever they want. Lets put the issue to a Referendum and we'll see which view wins.
Now regarding your previous comment where you said... "Having an individual stating that he/she works as a teacher and stating that "Noone will stop me from doing this, not even the Minister!!!.." does not augur well for our Education System!!"...That comment was referred to my previous statement. If you wish to teach about the conservation efforts of hunters and trappers, i suggest you to go to Junior College for 2 years to get your A' Levels, then to University for a 4 year course and finally find a job as a teacher. Many colleagues of mine (referring to teachers around all Malta and Gozo) do like me, and show our students that the environment is there to protect it... and not be exterminators of everything that flies!!!
Can you quote source of information that makes you so cock-sure about quote: '..the number of Maltese citizens who are not bothered at all with hunters and trappers' ?
Chapter and verse please. Should you care to note, one of the most commented upon news items in the TOM are hunting issues. This item only is 4th from the top of the 'Most Commented'. The shooting of the lesser spotted eagle by the lesser human beings aka hunters, placed even higher. So I would say that many Maltese are highly interested in hunting issues. One day as we abolished the death penalty, hunting will be abolished too. It is called the progress of civilisation. Schools and places of learning being one of the pillars of civilisation and the enemy of ignorance.
I am also a mainstream voter... But will vote AGAINST ALL FORMS OF HUNTING!! So that your vote will cancel-off with mine... But luckily there are only ~14,000 other voters (+ a few other hunting zealots) left to neutralise!
That's more than enough to overturn ANY law or indeed any ECJ ruling!! Ms!!
"hunting is considered to be an important tool how to conserve the environment" O.o
Hawwadni ha nifmek ??!!?!?!!
Do I read that well?
Sorry, but this must me one of the most obsence statements of the year! Where's the logic in killing animals to "conserve" the environment? What are you conserving exactly? Is it the worms that would have been spared once all the birds are gone? Or what exactly?
Then it all really depends what you mean by "conservation"... However "conserving" stuffed or mummified versions of nature for your own private collections does not qualify as conservation for the rest of us. God forbid we ever have to teach this hogwash to children!
very very sarcastic!! with these comments, what do you really want to show, or teach??
"Today I respect every single living creature around me. Beside teaching us the academic subjects,you teached us little students, how wonderful and amazing is the world around us, you teached us also to respect the smallest living insect. "
Do you deal with mosquitoes, flies, gnats, silverfish...?
Do you vacuum clean (thereby eliminating millions of microsopic mites)?
Do you allow ticks to infest your dog? Do you protect your dog from sandflies?
Do you allow yeasts and fungi to grow on your body...?
Do you disinfect your surroundings (thereby killing millions of bacteria)?
I won't say anything about viruses because these seem to be somewhere between the living and the non-living...
I might understand hyperbole, but this isn't this stretching it a bit too far...? :)
Re your comments.
Yes I believe that ALL teachers should explain/teach their pupils the subjects that they are employed to teach. Their personal opinions should be EXCLUDED from the corriculum. I do not say that they are not entitled to these opinions BUT a one sided opinion leaves the student/pupil in some dillema, for example, if a teacher teaches his/her students that hunting is wrong, then they are implying that the law is wrong. The law does NOT state that hunting is illegal. Hunting , within the confines of the law, should be explained to the students and, the students be allowed to make up their own mind. Should you wish for further clarification, I will be gladly give you MY OPINION and allow you to form YOUR opinion as you, if you are a teacher, allow your students the same rights.
I urge the Minister of Education to ensure that our children are taught both sides, be it BLM's and FKNK's views and let our children's mind work and form their own decision! Having an individual stating that he/she works as a teacher and stating that "Noone will stop me from doing this, not even the Minister!!!.." does not augur well for our Education System!!
I particularly like the way you put it... But now allow me to add one more "worm" to the "can" we have just opened...
Can anybody (in full honesty) come up with a single good argument for why shooting or maiming a (possibly stray) dog or cat is wrong, while shooting a bird is to be totally accepted? And don't try to bring any lame "It is a pet" arguments - those would be foolishly subjective.
A cat is a dog is a mouse is a bird is an animal like any other!...
YET last time I checked, in this *same* very country we have harsh LAWS against animal cruelty and we also have an Animal Welfare Department that we are supporting through our taxes... (including those of hunters)... How can anybody have the nerve to defend animal rights and condemn cruelty on one hand when at the same time s/he would be in favour of cruelty and killing of some other animals "FOR THE FUN OF IT" ... and go all the way to call it a "Sport". CONSISTENCY IS A VALUE!
Would you agree if my next SPORT involves throwing darts at your cat?
It is so evident that you are NOT a teacher. Thank God you are not because this superiority mentality would ruin our children. I believ that once they become adults children are very capable of making their own right decisions without any Brainwashing teachers.
All I have to emphasise (for the benefit of everyone else) is; this is not a pro/anti hunting argument. This argument is questioning whether a teacher should have the right to impose certain opinions on students.
How would you feel if your child's teacher was a vegetarian (or more extreme, vegan) and started teaching your child that it is wrong to eat any sort of meat or animal produced food? It is not right or wrong to be a vegetarian, but you still would not like your teacher imposing these views onto your impressionable child, I would imagine?
"FKNK actually asked BirdLife to pressure the government to open a spring hunting season"
The Times of 2 Oct stated:
"Birdlife should offer its professed expertise to assist the government apply for a derogation allowing spring hunting in 2010 rather than indulge in scaremongering tactics"
IF THIS IS NOT TWISTING FACTS, WHAT IS V FALZON?! AND YOU EXPECT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY SIR/MADAM?!!!
You are telling the teachers not to teach to defencless children. What about the killing of defenceless birds? Are the birds in the sky yours? You can nowadays shoot at birds on big screens electronically. You may invest in electronic 'killings' ( maybe the government will help) The apparatus may be set up in a field or hall. When you hit a flying bird on the screen you might want to amplify the cry the bird makes ( if it has a chance) or the blood gushing out as well from the wounds of hot pellets and see the carcass dive down to the ground and then play the game of searching the victim. We are modern now what? I would love you if you agree with me for letting me and the majority enjoy nature at its best. i always say that if you want to kill birds ( or else you commit suicide) because it is your nature and up to now is legal , do so BUT PLEASE DO NOT TEACH THIS CRUEL ACT TO YOUR CHILDREN. WELL DONE TEACHERS. I was ateacher and I have done may tiny bit for the love of dear birds.
What is the "teacher pack" anyway ?isn't it trying to influence them about the joys of killing birds?
but in this case it's whitewashed as conservation & pretty trees.I wonder if this pack mentions
dead birds or guns at all.
The lengths hunters will go through to justify shooting birds is amazing.Dosn't the word 'alive ' mean anything to you?
& you want our respect for depriving us of these birds just because of your personal hobby?
Now anyone that dares admire a free bird flying is called an extremist...ara x'estrem dak mela
Call it dictatorship, brainwashing, antidemocratic, call it what you like dear Mr Sullivan, they are only your labels and your descriptions. I agree with you that children are at the best age to form their values. That is why it is my duty as a teacher to keep teaching kids the beauty of watching birds alive and flying free in their habitat, as opposed to the cruelty of enslaving wild birds in cages, and the wantonness of killing birds for the kick of it.
Yes you in UK ‘have accepted the fact that fox hunting is an arcane and cruel activity and we have indeed legislated against it. It's gone It's over!’ Is it over, Sir? It is being heard in the grape vine that some are arguing to reintroduce that tradition!
But that is only part of the story; you failed to mention Sir that in UK hunting (i.e. shooting) takes place 365days a year! Even Maltese hunters take shooting holidays over there! So why do you want us to stop the little we have got?
The news that makes headlines is only the bad publicity; magnified by foreigners brought over purposely, for free! Many conservation efforts made by hunters go by unmentioned! The hunters’ federation has really to work against the grain to make its efforts known!
If FKNK didn't ask BirdLife to help government apply for spring hunting, I dare you to tell me exactly what it DID ask for on 2 October! Not that readers cannot check for themselves, as they can all read plain English. Dear Ms Darmanin, your knee-jerk accusation of "twisting facts" at all nature lovers is so intense that you don't realise what howlers your beloved FKNK regularly come up with.
guess the best education would be
Day 1 : school visits within nature reserves wherein the children themselves can observe birds resting and interacting
Day 2 : Trip to Bahrija (pls wear protective clothing against lead showers and some earlplugs vs abusive language)......and watch birds shot down....and preferably having a dog fetch a couple of dead birds to the children to observe the effect of the gunshots.
Hopefully no protected birds will be shot.
Thereafter, guess they can reach their own conclusion.
My point being, what does the Ministry of Education have to say about this matter and, what do they intend to do about teachers that stray from the curriculum.
There are TWO sides to every coin and if the teachers teach or impart their anti hunting opinions to others, they should also inform their pupils about the pro hunting side of things.
EQUALITY = DEMOCRACY
Its only obvious that birds are more appreciated in their natural environment than having a dead bird. Whats wrong into making children realize of the nature around us and encourage them to observe.....ofcourse who doesnt even want to hear a word against hunting thats his problem, but teachers cant hold back information that students have a right to know. Hunting, whether sustainable or not, can never be justified.
And what are these 'conservation efforts' that trappers and hunters do to the natural environment? because they build a rubble wall or plant 'alien trees'....or else scrape the garrigue and maquis to make way for trapping sites...and then spray all around with herbicides. Look, I somewhow understand that hunters and trappers want to catch birds but please dont try and give the impression that you are doing conservation efforts.
My father is a hunter and i am a birdwatcher but i never turned against him. On the contrary, my father started appreciating more birds. Minister keep this in mind...
What I would like to dwell on is only one point. In such a class the Teacher is not excersising Democracy but DICTATORSHIP. let's not forget that at that age children are absorbing information to be able to take own decisions when mature.
Look at the bird, says Jane.
KILL KILL KILL, says Peter
woof woof woof says Spot as he grabs the lifeless carcass.
Grow up, it's barbaric, cowardly and inhumane and good on the teachers who are speaking out against it. Teachers have a duty to teach more than the curriculum.
I too am a UK citizen and I believe that the Maltese people be allowed to govern their own hunting/trapping problems.
You claim "All I see is hunters,hunters,hunters"
All I see is "Birdlife,Birdlife,Birdlife" Interpretation like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
“how can you Maltese expect to be counted as Europeans, like the rest of us, if you don’t have the decency to just drop your shotguns….” Sir, the MALTESE HUNTERS are no inferior to other EU HUNTERS. Have a look at the hunting and poaching taking place in YOUR COUNTRY! It might interest you to know that Maltese hunters come to your country on hunting holidays! Therefore your statements: “Is it possible that you people have nothing better to do” and “Why don’t you grow up and realised that………..must be cared for by everybody, for everybody to enjoy” shows your hypocrisy as well as your lack of knowledge and substance in your non-factual contribution!!! I repeat Sir, the Maltese are NO INFERIOR to other EU citizens! Actually, I believe that you have much to learn from us!!
Dr SToP, “I will be the first to push this through Parliament”?!!! Your say in Parliament is as good as mine!
“So that leaves ˜399,700 of non-hunter citizens”. You have the audacity to include the hunters’ families and the many others who are not bothered with hunting as sharing your dictatorial views?! How presumptuous!!
Sir, you conveniently opted to ignore the millions of hunters worldwide! Why, does this bother you?!!
Mr Chris Grillo, it seems you have been brainwashed! Have you every heard of the PERFECTLY LEGAL HUNTING PASTIME?! You consistently referred to Poaching in your comment.
Dear Sir, I live in the UK and are you telling me the huntig debate here is over? Did you not Hear Cameron on R4 saying
he thinks one ought to decriminalise the fox hunting ban? Are foxes and other mammals not shot on farmland for 'pest
control' reasons?
And please get off your moral high horse! Only in England 1 or 2 years ago the following scenario unfolded: 2 women
found guilty of organising dog fights were jailed for 2 years or so. another 2 women who were organising fights between
their toddler CHILDREN! and filming the on their mobile phones for money etc etc were given a suspended sentence.
the mind boggles
Can you pls see what hunting is done in your country before FIRST!! Before you start talking about MINE!!!
The noise is done at your end due to the fact (if you dont know that
is)That at this time of the year at YOUR country Millions of pheasants, grouse, partrige, duck,
pest's rabbits ,woodpigeon etc etc..... are shot.....so see if you have a solution to stop hunting in the UK and to tell your fellowship hunters to drop there shotguns like you are telling us to do here in Malta pls let me know!!!!!!!!
But first look what is being done in your back garden first.....and by the way you are European
or dont you know that to.......We are shocked when we see rape killings child abuse etc etc in your newspaper that is what you should be looking and worrying about and comment about.
Thank You.
The wishes of the vast majority will win through in the end. Looking at this from a hunter's point of view, I would ask, how many of you keep a budgie or a canary in a cage?
Two sides to every story...however it is correct that sitting in stone box (dura) wearing camouflage and blasting tiny birds to smithereens is hardly good sport. And the lsess said about protected birds, the better. It is illegal (all over the world!)..so easy to understand. You simply cannot kill protected species and expect to be understood.
Peace to all!
Now, how can you Maltese expect to be counted as Europeans, like the rest of us, if you don't have the decency to just drop your shotguns and allow a harmless sparrow to build a nest and live a peaceful life amongst you!
I am shocked whenever I set foot on your tiny island and open a newspaper. All I see is always hunters, hunters, hunters. Is it possible that you people have nothing better to do? How can such a small group of people make so much noise all the time?
Why don't you grow up and realise that nature is a shared asset that must be cared for by everybody, for everybody to enjoy?
Just 14,000? Praise the Lord!....That's even fewer than I thought! :-)
AND Next year they will be even less!
You mark my words!!... in 10-20 years time even fishing risks being abolished... let alone hunting for hunting's sake! ... And I will be the first to push this through Parliament whether you like it or not! .... 14,000 will surely not stand in the way of saving our ecological heritage...
So that leaves ~399,700 (~2008 census) of non-hunter citizens who will (in all probability) prefer to enjoy wildlife in its living NATURAL state...
FKNK...JUST GIVE IT UP!!... YOU ARE GROSSLY OUTNUMBERED
@Dr. Mark A. Sammut
Now wouldn't you think that 399,700 out of 413,700 would represent a wide enough majority to consider the protection of wildlife a widely accepted value?? I think that this is what should be taught in school because it represents modern Maltese and European values.
Is it not a time to put a definitive end to these pesky hunters' habits and have the government withdraw all their licenses and recall all their weapons???
"SHOULD HUNTING REMAIN LEGAL?"
NOW LETS PUT THIS TO A REFERENDUM, SHALL WE???
(I think I know the answer!)
As you very well know, I got it from the The Times news item of 2 Oct. Surely, to ask BirdLife (of all people!) to lend a hand in allowing spring hunting, must qualify for Silliest Statement Of The Year.
@ R Sammut: "There is much more to hunting and trapping!"
There is indeed. Hunting and trapping are important survival activities to keep primitive human communities alive, and a living museum for anthropologists to glimpse into man's past. As for hunting and trapping in 21st century Malta... all there is to say about them is that they are a senseless wastage of life. And for what? To give an adrenalin rush to a bunch of men who should know better.
Those very few who choose to disagree are not pressured to agree.
It's a free world dear, and I'm sure teachers' attitudes are much better than hunters' attitudes.
Who decides which values are good and which values are bad?
Teachers, headmasters, directors of education, education ministers?
It is pretty obvious that the question requires a very long answer. A 200 word limit (the obtaining limit here) makes it impossible to provide it.
However, I think 200 words are enough to reply to a comment asking for the logic behind my reasoning. Here it is: If the values espoused and imparted by a particular teacher are controversial, then parents will want those values screened. Who will screen them? The school principal? Who will screen the school principal? The director of education? Who will screen the director of education? The minister? Who will screen the minister? The electorate? How?
The situation starts getting messy at this point.
I think it is wiser if teachers eschew imparting values to students, unless those values are widely accepted in a society.
----
Lastly. A commentator said that abortions are done for social and medical reasons. Is he sure he's not leaving out (i) careers (women who prefer their career to motherhood) and (ii) extramarital affairs (not wanting to end a marriage because of an affair)?
Dr Savior Tortell Pisani, "bursting car tyres without getting caught, or aiming cricket balls at glass windows, or tripping old ladies etc..." may never be considered as being LEGAL whereas hunting may be practised within the parameters of the law. Why is it proving to be so difficult for you to understand? Twisting facts will get you nowhere! The illegal actions you mention were always against social behaviours and people living in a community never accepted such shameful behaviours! Have you every heard of RESPECT TOWARDS OTHERS?!
"the fact that there are still some hunters left" - SOME HUNTERS Sir? There are 14,000 hunters in Malta and MILLIONS of hunters worldwide! Sorry to disappoint you!
"WILL BE extinguished PERIOD! " Keep on dreaming! Your extremist and dictatorial statements are worthless!
Dr Tortell Pisani, I AM ABSOLUTELY AGAINST ABORTION! Please do be factual in your arguments! It is certain individuals who condemn the killing of birds who are known to be in favour of killing of innocent human-beings!
"
Precisely my point... Now go read my comments a few times more ... I trust that you will eventually figure-out the intended meaning...
In the meantime, in order to cure the "blinkered" vision that afflicts us poor 400,000 citizens (less 20,000 illuminati of course)... I would in the name of the rest of my fellow citizens ask you to elucidate us of the supposedly beneficial aspects of this 'crime against nature'....
Mention but ONE advantage of hunting please...
Now that we are all so "eager" to be "educated" by the FKNK... Why don't the FKNK send this "Teachers' pack" to every household so that we may, one day, graduate in FKNK policy! I can't wait for my second doctorate!
Thank you!
‘Adolf Hitler thinking about the next Mein Kampf or an Ayatollah Khomeini preaching theories why women are inferior to men.’
Your words sir, but perhaps a review into your own comments down below might throw some light on who is talking what???
You again miss the point! (and I think you do it on purpose!).....Those who refuse to remember the past are condemned to repeat the same mistakes!
The actions I mentioned are ONLY illegal because someone, like myself, together with others sharing contemporary values, realised that such actions have no place in civil society and hence **DECLARED** THEM ILLEGAL... Soon the same will happen with hunting, in all its forms.
If you go far back enough in history, you will soon discover that a great many things which are illegal TODAY were NOT illegal at some point in time or other... Slavery was a perfectly legal trade and there were government institutions set up to facilitate it! But today...It is anathema because we have EVOLVED!
So likewise, the fact that there are still some hunters left who practice their horrible activity and who persist to call it a "sport", adds ABSOLUTELY nothing to the argument... IT IS WRONG... and WILL BE extinguished PERIOD!
Abortion follows the exact same reasoning... Irrespective of whether YOU and a FEW others choose to condone it, or call it a "God-given right", a "legal" "pastime" or a "sport"... IT WILL STILL BE WRONG!
Only the bad publicity about hunting /trapping gets the spotlight and this is making the activity look as if clandestine. Malta is seen as the only place on earth where legal hunting/trapping are done! Perhaps this suffocation and sweeping statements are making individuals the more rebellious! Not a nice thing to say about an educational system run by professionals!
What are those in the profession teaching little kids? In their imposition, teachers may be even turn kids against family members. The kids’ (previously) dear fathers or some otherwise nice uncles are bad because these are in the hobby? How is this to make sense for a little child? Children see their world around them crumbling! Not even to thrust their dear family… because the teacher said so… because the teacher can and does manipulate their minds…
You get it ALL wrong my friend... Being in a minority does not automatically give the licence to act in savagely destructive ways. Some things must be abolished because they are intrinsically wrong. By your reasoning, then slavery should be legal because a few would favour it... Murder or Rape or Abortion would also be legal because a minority of the Maltese population thinks there are situations where it is justified... and some future FKNK-like organisation could even go to great lengths of calling it a "Sport"!
Secondly Bacon and Eggs are NOT the result of senseless and rabid exploitation of nature they are products of the SUSTAINABLE rearing of livestock that is managed and created by man for man... It does not deplete nature of anything at all... I'm sorry to see you confuse farming livestock with hunting wildlife!
@D.Cachia...Dr.Mark A.Sammut...etc...
Teaching people how to THINK is NECESSARY BUT NOT SUFFICIENT... You MUST also teach HEALTHY VALUES... When the starting point is twisted, further thinking only leads into misguided territory and you will soon get another Adolf Hitler thinking about the next Mein Kampf or an Ayatollah Khomeini preaching theories why women are inferior to men.
Dr S Tortelli Pisani, the actions you are suggesting are all illegal acts whereas hunting is a legalised form of pastime! Please, Sir, take off your dictatorship blinkers and reason out things in their true perspective.
Well, quite a number of those commenting online against hunting have also commented online in favour of abortion. If any of these individuals happen to be in the teaching profession, are we to expect them to influence the children's minds to reason in such a hypocritical manner?!!!
How about providing this pack to parents and let education start at home?
I did not spend 4years at University to go teach about "the conservation efforts of hunters and trappers in the natural environment"!!!! Kemm se ndumu pupazzi f'dal-pajjiz?
Naqbel mieghek hlief ghal din l-ahhar sentenza.
Jien trabbejt go dar mimlija ghasafar ibbalzmati ghax sfortunatament missieri kaccatur u kien ihobb jibbalzma l-ghasafar. Kien ukoll maghruf li jibbanzma l-ghasafar “qishom hajjien” - dejjem skont il-kaccaturi li qatt ma indenjaw ruhhom josservaw ghal zmien twil l-ghasafar hajjien go l-ambjent naturali taghhom jew la menu jaraw dokumentarji dwar in-natura.
Per esperjenza personali nassigurak li trid tkun veru pervers per eccellenza biex titpaxxa tara ghasfur maqtul ibbalzmat go vetrina.
But hunting for sport just to make a trophy is disgusting! You can't justify it, because it's fun and you feel one with nature (predator vs prey). Trapping is also justified if you are catching birds for food that are not on the endangered (or restricted) list. I must admit I love Quail.
I am proud to be a hunter. I used to wake up early when I was a small kid and beg my dad to take me with him. Who are you to judge me? Why should my kids be told at school "hunting is bad, cruel etc. " which to my children equates to : "your dad is doing something bad and cruel so he is a bad and cruel person".
I try, actually I don't have to try that hard! to instil in my children a love and understanding of nature as my dad did with me and his dad with him. Regularly they plant trees themselves so that they understand that to harvest from nature, one has to invest in tomorrow's nature.
On a final note, I personally do not shoot any protected birds. I explain to my kids why doing so is essentially counter-productive to conservation. Quit judging others! Typical FARIZEJ!
Why not show the school children a video of the injured bird which was found by a hunter
and passed on to a 'friend' to be cured taking flight after fully recovering!
Halluna tridu!!!
Now we have teachers that support birdlife. Good. What is unprofessional about most of these teachers is that they purposely try to confuse their young students that HUNTING and POACHING are the same thing, just to reach their aim in abolishing hunting. And here is were the Minister and Dr Grace Grima should interfere.
Teaching children that abortion is wrong is already done!! Killing another living creature for fun is also wrong so it has to be taught to our kids as well. If teaching that hunting is wrong is going to lead to kids being bullied what about what you said about teaching kids not to become single parents?? Those who come from single parents aren't going to be bullied too?? And what's so wrong in being a single parent? I'm a single mother and my kids lack nothing and are brought up respecting themselves and others...including animals!! And before you go on about paying taxes for single parents...not all single parents receive social security benefits. We send our children to school so that they can learn right from wrong....so teaching them that illegal hunting and trapping is wrong is something that should be done at school. This shouldn't be about politics either as someone else said. But it seems that everything that happens in this country is about politics!!
Whilst (I think) I agree with the underlying principle of your argument, I think your logic is flawed
Teachers should first and foremost teach the curriculum. However teachers are role models. What kind of role models do you want for your children?
I would much rather disagree with my child’s passionate and challenging teacher who is fair and constructive in argument and forces my child to think about and evaluate his/her opinion/position. These are lessons the already demanding curriculum will never cover.
To quote you; “They would be training students not to evaluate controversies, thus creating the bases for the blinkered partisanship Malta is saddled with.”
What basis would we be creating if children only heard their parents’ views? Where would the opposition to the merits of a parent’s evaluation come from?
As a parent I enjoy it when my child questions my stand point on anything. Natural interest has been shown and this is a fantastic opportunity to have one of those “A-ha moments” with your child, whilst also teaching them how to argue a point constructively and effectively. Perhaps next time he will change the teacher's mind!
So to sum up... TEACH THINKING!
Inheggeg lill-ghalliema biex inisslu fl-istudenti taghhom valuri altruwisti. Ghasfur sabih inhallih jittajjar fis-sema, ipaxxi ghajnejn kulhadd, mhux statwa iebsa go vetrina biex nitpaxxa bih jien biss.
Teachers should not be allowed to impart their own personal prejudices on children. If they can discuss issues impartially, all well and good, but it seems they cannot. Children are impressionable and the days of totalitarian state control should be well behind us - so why should we allow teachers to become the mouthpiece of the regime?
I totally agree with Dr. Mark A. Sammut. That's one doctor Saviour Tortell Pisani could learn a thing or two from.
So YES... EDUCATION from a young age is the best form of VACCINATION that we can give to children to ensure that they don't contract the same sickly interest in such twisted "FKNK Sport" that so far afflicts about 5% of the Maltese population.
Only then will children stand up and be counted in the fight against these dated mentalities.
I'm sorry but I couldn't disagree with you further... Hunting is a TOTALLY UNNECESSARY AND BRUTAL way of treating an already highly threatened nature. If it were a matter of survival then it would be different matter... but not today and certainly not in our supposedly "civil" society.
This is why it MUST be abolished... together with the "FKNK" and all their stone-age, twisted, obtuse mentality... Even the definition of FKNK is an OXYMORON !!!! This is not a matter of giving space for everybody's opinion or hobby... IT MUST END BECAUSE IT IS DESTRUCTIVE!
Secondly, it would be a very rotten form of "SPORT" if you want to call it a sport... This business of justifying anything under the Sun just by calling it a "sport" must also end. It only leads to unsociable/unsustainable behaviour... I would love to hear your version of the definition of "sport"!
Just because it involves a challenge is not good way to define Sport!
By this reasoning I may adopt bursting car tyres without getting caught, or aiming cricket balls at glass windows, or tripping old ladies etc.... All of these could be classified as a sport by your reasoning!
Am I so unlucky that whereever I go I always encounter one of the few illegal shooters? In theory, it should not be a problem to stop illegal shooting in our minute island since both BLM and FKNK agree that illegal shooting must stop!!!!! So who knows why it is still an issue???
Remember some days ago FKNK actually asked BirdLife to pressure the government to open a spring hunting season?
I wonder who the panic-stricken bunch are...
• I have taught how fragile our planet is.
• I have taught how ugly it is that people destroy nature for fun or for greed.
• I have taught that it is our moral duty as human beings to safeguard nature.
• I have taught that everyone can do their bit, however small, to help reduce the damage.
What is more, I intend to continue teaching children all about this, and in this way help create a more sensitive generation of future adults. Teachers keep up the good work.
Is the minister right in her comment?
The real thing is last week while I was at the local pet-shop a lot of young children accompanied by their parents came to buy a pet bird so that they will take it to their school to be blessed because it was the feast of St Francis of Assisi.
However, I believe that telling students that birds are better appreciated in the wild than trapped in a cage or on a mantlepiece constitutes education, nothing more nothing less.
As an aside, distributing an pack by FKnK is tantamount to a sick joke.
What does abortion have to do with hunting? People don't abort for pleasure but for very serious medical or social reasons!
There are many subjects one must tackle carefully... when talking about teenage pregnancy, we are aware that some children's parents where teenage parents. When talking about alcohol, we are aware that some students actually drink at family events. When talking about human rights and equality, we are aware that some parents may not agree, etc.. Should we avoid social subjects because at some point someone might get offended???
‘So teachers do well to teach their students the proper way of treating nature: By not killing or removing a single creature from mother nature!!!’
If everybody is taken to your suggestion, how would you feel without your bacon and eggs at breakfast Doctor?
Misguided individuals are those that want impose their ways upon others and annihilate opposing minorities from society.
Dr Savior Tortell Pisani, I would never have expected such rubbish. Sir, I guess you would promote that school-children are taught how to become dictators!! It seems that this type of behaviour is quite prevailent in your way of thinking!!
Dear Mr Vella
Your comment confirms what certain readers are saying.
You say that you were brought up as a hunter but then "converted." If that experience is true - and I see no reason not to believe you - then it goes to show that there's no need to indoctrinate children.
Instead, children should be taught to think with their heads. And then they will - like you - make up their minds independently. They might wish to take up hunting as a sport or else not to take it up.
But to indoctrinate children is FASCISTIC.
Let us all be aware of this threat to democracy. History teaches us that Paternal Fascism was defeated in the last war. Now we have Maternal Fascism, which is soft-spoken and kind, but still wants to IMPOSE on us what is good and what is bad.
In a real democracy, each citizen is deemed to be a mature adult who can make up his mind for him/herself.
That should be the primary objective of schooling: giving children the tools with which to reach mature decisions. Imposing ready-made ideas leads to citizens who cannot think: the ideal citizen of a totalitarian state.
Instead of just crude, BLM-inspired propoganda, what's wrong with a balanced approach to nature, hunting (of legal game) and conservation (of habitat and protected species), respect for the laws, and safety? Field trips? Bird identification? Tradition and history?
Hunting will NEVER be abolished in the Europe we are now part of. Forget it. Better put some of this misdirected energy and funding energy into REALLY educating the next generation of hunters!
Mudslinging and venom get you nowhere in the end and say more about you than anything else.
So teachers do well to teach their students the proper way of treating nature: By not killing or removing a single creature from mother nature!!!
Whichever way you package it... Hunting is a destructive activity and should be completely and most permanently abolished... The quicker this happens, the better!!!... but it will take us some time for the entire country to become educated enough to realise that Hunting has no place in a modern society. We need to evolve a bit more.
In the mean time we NEED TO EDUCATE our children and those of the Misguided Hunters Community (MHC) to show them that there are better ways of coexisting with nature.... eg: Photography!
The MHC must not be allowed to interfere with any such efforts to educate the public or their own children. MHC propaganda should therefore not be allowed inside schools.
Some of you have mentioned Democracy. That is not Democracy that is brainwashing on the teachers part.. Of course the teacher has a right to his/her opinion but their job is to teach a subject and not to give their personal view. That should be left for outside of school hours
What would some of you say if the teacher was pro-abortion or pro a different religion than Christianity? and then imparted that knowledge upon your children. Teach the pupils ABOUT religion or abortion by all means but then let the pupil reach their own conclusion, this obviously includes hunting. As for the person who is worried about his tax money, I would be worried more if my child was brainwashed no matter what the subject.
Personally if I found out that my child was being brainwashed, I would want to see the head teacher and/or seek legal advice.
This situation should be noted to the Head of Eduction and reprimend who ever teacher/s as we pay thier pay cheques through our tax , and the Minister should put an end to this non sence.
Toni
Mr Eric Gahan, Teachers are paid by MY tax money as well and as such I demand that kids are shown both sides of the coin!
As for those commenting that "Everybody is entitled to have their say" - EXACTLY SIRS/MADAMS! EVERYBODY - not just BLM!!!
Prosit to the minister. - CONTINUE TO TEACH MALTESE CHILDREN TO LOVE ANIMALS. THAT IS THE RIGHT ATTITUDE FOR A BETTER CHARACTER BUILDING.
It is only in TOTALITARIAN regimes that children are taught ONE side of an argument, usually the side which the regime believes to be right.
If the Education Minister were to allow teachers to impart anti-hunting propaganda to students, we would end up with a fascistic policy.
Parents wanting their children not to hunt should give them those values at home.
If a sizeable part of Maltese society is against hunting, there are DEMOCRATIC ways of dealing with the perceived problem.
But taxpayers' money (hunters are taxpayers too) shouldn't be used to promote the agenda of any ONE side of an argument.
This reasoning applies to hunters, too.
Matters of political controversy should not be part of the curriculum. On the other hand, an analytical mindframe should be taught.
@ JoeFenech: With all due respect, European countries are against killing birds but not really against killing unborn human beings. Should make you think.
Having said all this, the debate on hunting should go on, but among adults, and away from schools.
@Anthony Formosa, hunting might be a natural human instinct, but sitting in a brick box wearing camo gear and shooting small birds with a shotgun certainly is not natural for any normal person and it certainly isn't hunting.
Why do you find it so out of place to teach school children shoot? It is included in curricula of other countries in the EU and USA, amongst other. While in Malta, some biased teachers are quick as you Sir, to ridicule any pro-hunting/trapping arguments raised by students. This hindering of self expression would perhaps induce a form of introversion for the particular individual. What happened to the maxim to induce reading/writing proficiency, telling students to research their preferred hobbies or interests?
Perhaps this is one more reason why many of the younger generations start to abhor school from a tender age. The education system is failing them to achieving their true potential. School is seen as a place where the impositions of teachers are trying to manipulate their little minds. Another reason why some are turning rude and later reverting to alcoholism and drugs!
Those who don't like it might like to choose to live in a different world. It's up to them but teachers are paid to do their job and they do it.
If we pay taxes like eco tax etc (to improve our ecology) why don't hunters pay similar expensive taxes for the damage they make and for the money that is needed it to restore it?
This is not a tradition, but purely a murder of innocent birds.They will be shot, killed and left there.
The younger generation knows well that birds were born to fly,and are against this useless killing.Im sure that the education dept,will continue to leave these teachers ,teaching our children the creation of these beautiful birds that give us so much joy in our heart, by seeing them fly above us.
Dear Minister, Why not teach the children against abortion, and racism and educate them not become single mothers and fathers from the age of 12.
To all commentators, tell your children that the human instinct is a hunter and that hunting is natural, and show your children how to kill a rabbit and a chicken, to appreciate more the animal.
A teacher is duty bound, like the child's parents, to teach them the good and the bad. It is not our fault that FKNK and its members are on the wrong side. Conservation is not just planting a fast growing tree in your field, to attract some birds to blow off.
The question is: should a teacher (primary school to University) take up the role of imparting a political formation to their pupils/students?
(Hunting is obviously a political issue.)
If teachers were allowed to tell students only one aspect of a controversy, their disservice would be twofold.
1. They would be inculcating their (the teachers') own views in students, who, at a tender age, tend to absorb unquestioningly all information tendered by adults.
2. They would be training students not to evaluate controversies, thus creating the bases for the blinkered partisanship Malta is saddled with.
Unless it is something accepted by all of society (e.g. the condemnation of the Holocaust, the encouragement of understanding between nations, the need to save energy and reduce CO2 emissions, etc), professional teaching should keep away from taking sides in matters of controversy.
I remember with disgust a lecturer at University, who used to share his own political views with us students during the lectures. I have always seen him as a disgrace to the teaching profession.
Naf ghax grat quddiemi...forsi hawnhekk ghandhom ragun...l-ghalliema m'ghandhomx say ikbar mill-genituri u ghalhekk l-ebda ghalliem m'ghandu qatt iwaqqa l-genituri jew jitfa dell fuqhom...fejn wasalna?
If FKNK has every right to promote hunting, it is within every other individuals' rights to speak badly about hunting. This is called Democracy. Of course that FKNK do welcome conservation efforts!! The more trees we get, more birds we are going to attract, hunters can hide under the trees waiting for their prey.
FKNK keep singing your song, and we will continue to sing our song.
I urge more teachers to do like their colleagues are doing. Maybe someday the next generation of children will grow to detest hunting and trapping.