That time of year again...

The sun comes out and I feel the need to get the fuck out of the place i've been holed up in all winter, like many others this time of year. This Peacock was the first butterfly i've seen this year, hopefully a sign of good things to come.

No Spring Hunting in Malta!

Bit of a long one here people, but things are finally starting to move in the right direction. For those who dont know, Malta is an important crosssing point for birds migrating between Europe and Africa, and there has been a long history of indiscriminate slaughter on this island. Many of europes rarest species have had massive setbacks as they are killed purely for "sport", with absolutely no consideration of the impact on the species population. Activists from Birdlife Malta and other groups trying to assess the situation have been physically attacked, shot at and had their cars burned out. Though this new directive probably wont do much to change the mind set of maltese hunters, it is a step forward.

(following text taken from proact mailing list)
UPDATE: READ FULL TEXT OF EUROPEAN COURT DECISION No spring hunting in 2008, EU courts rules The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has on Thursday decided to ban spring hunting in Malta as an interim measure, preventing the government from opening the 2008 hunting and trapping season for Turtle Dove and Quail. Click here to read the full text of the European Courts http://www.maltastar.com/pages/msrv/msfullart.asp?an=20641