Malta launches national abrogative referendum on Spring hunting

The Mediterranean country of Malta has been holding a first-ever abrogative referendum on Saturday on whether the archipelago's spring hunting, which kills thousands migrating birds every year, should be abolished.

In the referendum, voters are being asked "Do you agree that the provisions of the 'Framework for Allowing a Derogation Opening a Spring Hunting Season for Turtle Dove and Quail Regulations' (Subsidiary Legislation 504.94) should continue in force?" If the Yes wins, the law will remain as it is and the spring hunting season will open. If No wins, no hunting in spring will take place.

It is Malta's seventh referendum in the past 145 years but the first to strike down a law. All referendums to date were consultative.

The polling stations across the islands opened from 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) to 10 p.m. (2000 GMT). President of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro Preca and her husband Edgar cast their vote at 9:30 a.m. (0730 GMT), Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle voted at the Burmarrad at 10:50 a.m. (0850 GMT).

According to Malta Electoral Commission, 338,447 people in the country are eligible to vote, meaning a turnout of 169,224 people is needed for the referendum to be valid. 20,937 votes had not been gleaned by Thursday's final deadline, which is equivalent to 6.2 percent of all those eligible to vote.

The outcome of the referendum is supposed to be known on Sunday.

The Constitutional Court of Malta approved the spring hunting referendum in January by siding with the 11 conservation groups who organized the referendum, known as the Coalition for the Abolition of Spring Hunting, gathering 40,000 signatures from Maltese voters.

Opinion polls show that the majority of Maltese are against the spring hunt. However, for the referendum to be valid, over 50 percent of the electorate has to show up.

"I don't want birds to be killed, and I'd like my countryside to be good," Clodine, a female voter who cast her vote at Antonio Bosio Secondary School in Gzira, told Xinhua.

The spring hunting in Malta has become increasingly controversial in recent years as conservation groups continue to decry the scale of the season, which can see over 10,000 turtle doves and 5,000 quail killed. Illegal hunting also continues to be considered as a problem.

Located between continental Europe (267 km) and Africa (284 km), Malta is a stepping stone on a seasonal bird migration route between the two continents, in spring and autumn. Endit