The British High Commissioner to Malta Mr Howard John Stredder Pearce CVO Dear Mr Stredder, You will be aware of the international interest in the regular and bloody flaunting of nature protection laws on the islands of Malta. As a lover of the outdoors, you will have been confronted yourself with the biannual bloody scenes of dead and injured migrating birds, the images of which, thanks to modern means of communication, have been widely publicised in Europe and beyond. Your role is not to intrude into the internal affairs of the nation to which you are an emissary. You will nevertheless have opportunities, among your Maltese official contacts, to diplomatically pass on the abhorrence of these barbaric and outdated rituals which the populations of most of the European Member States share. We ask you to exercise your personal influence, and that of your mission, to persuade those responsible to put a swift end to these practices. As a prospective EU member Malta has a lot of ground to make up in the environmental field. Although a party to the Bern Convention, it has a reservation and exception under the convention in relation to the hunting season. With regard to nature protection, most of the Community legislation has to be transposed, in particular the wild birds and the habitat directives. As concerned amateur and professional birders and ornithologists we have decided to make a concerted effort to influence opinion-formers and decision-makers in Malta in order to put a stop finally to the slaughter over the islands of the magnificent and relatively rare birds of passage, which are part of our joint European natural heritage. Letters and mails have also been addressed to: The President of Malta: The Prime Minister: The Minister for Foreign Affairs: The Minister for Home Affairs: The Minister for Tourism: The Commissioner of Police: The Director of the Environmental Protection Department: The Chairman of the Malta Tourist Authority: Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Malta: The Times of Malta and the Malta Independent. We hope that you, and the remainder of our correspondents, will take a personal interest in this matter and do all that is possible to put an end to this sad state of affairs. I remain, Yours sincerely, David Conlin and other concerned Eurobirders, ornithologists and nature lovers, named below and representing the following countries:
ADDRESSES & CONTACTS
FRANCE Fon: +356 233430 Fax: +356 233528 MAIL TO FRENCH EMBASSY TO MALTA GERMANY Fon: +356 336531 Fax: +356 333976 MAIL TO GERMAN EMBASSY TO MALTA ITALY Fon: +356 233157 Fax: +356 220548 MAIL TO ITALIAN EMBASSY TO MALTA BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION Fon: +356 233134-7 Fax: +356 233 184 Chancery Email: info@britain.com.mt (Political section) & bhc@vol.net.mt MAIL TO BHC (POLITICAL SECTION) MAIL TO BHC (INFO SECTION) WEB: BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION MALTA Proact/Birding in Europe © David Conlin 2001
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