On the eve of EU Environment Commission officials’ visit to Malta, BirdLife Malta (BLM) are again spreading deceitful and alarmist rumours to further tarnish Malta’s image, the Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FKNK) said. FKNK quoted BLM as stating that “more than 70 per cent of the protected birds targeted by illegal hunters since September 15 were shot at in the afternoon hunting hours previously covered by the 3pm hunting curfew,..”. FKNK has not received a single report of any protected bird being shot during the period in question. The 3:00 pm curfew had been imposed by the previous administration on BLM’s request so that BLM, during said period, could invite over volunteer tourists who would be at liberty to roam the Maltese countryside with total disregard of private property rights, besides being nuisances with their neo-colonialism attitudes. Both the 3:00 pm and 7:00 pm curfew at present in force up to 7 October, are not EU legislation requisites, FKNK pointed out.