Ray Vella: "This incident brings to light the clear disregard of the law."

The individual who purportedly took aim at a BirdLife ranger last Monday has not yet been netted, amid calls by some environmentalists to castigate Malta with a tourism boycott.
The victim, Ray Vella, reported being shot in the face late on Monday afternoon by a hunter who fled the scene after hurling abuse at him and "his organisation".
He was slightly injured by a pellet, which lodged itself in his nasal bridge. Other pellets, which hit his forehead and left cheek, only caused superficial abrasions and Mr Vella has recovered after two days of headaches.
Police sources said investigations had not yet yielded the perpetrator, even though a number of hunters were questioned.
A defiant Mr Vella told The Times yesterday the incident would only strengthen his resolve to work even harder in favour of the environment.
"This incident brings to light the clear disregard of the law and the ever-increasing environmental problems. The government has to do something," he said.
Asked whether he was convinced he had been specifically targetted, Mr Vella said: "If it were really an accident, it ended up being a serious incident once the hunter fled the scene and hurled abuse."
Only last May, as the man responsible for the Foresta 2000 project, Mr Vella saw months of work go down the drain when 3,000 pine saplings he had planted were systematically destroyed in the dead of night.
Still, despite the attacks, Mr Vella said he strongly disagreed with suggestions to hit the island economically because of the "three per cent criminals".
The outrage levelled out by foreign environmentalists at Maltese hunters has been conspicuous, with some individuals writing in on internet forums calling out on foreigners to stay away from the island.
Lynn Scotcher said she tried taking a country walk in Malta two years ago and felt she could only walk a few yards from a public road without fear of being the next moving thing to be shot.
"I now send e-mails to any companies that advertise holidays to Malta or Gozo to say that I will not be visiting their islands again until the illegal hunting ceases. Sad, as I so enjoy Malta and its people," she wrote.
"What do you and others feel about this as a strategy and a way of alerting the Maltese to this loss of tourism?"
A certain Sylvia Wallace wrote to the police, the government and the EU with her laments.
"The shooting of Ray Vella is an outrage. This is a criminal act and certainly an intimidation. The police need to act swiftly before someone is killed."
She criticised some hunters who went as far as to describe German international birdwatchers as "Nazis", saying that this would go a long way in keeping many German tourists away.
"Hasn't someone told these uncontrollable, bloodthirsty hunters that international eagles flying over Malta are of the feathered type and not some code name 'Eagle' during World War II?"