Written by Anthony Mizzi / Shot & Edited by Andrew Randon 2020
As we move further into the future, we sometimes need to stop and look back to see where we’ve been in order to see where we’re going. In today’s world the environment seems like a bigger issue than it has ever been, and it is. But in order to save it we need to remember that protecting nature was once part of who we are, and still is.
Malta’s size meant that throughout history any woodland was often cut down for resources, but places like Buskett Woodland were originally planted and protected by hunters over 300 years ago. To this day Maltese hunters continue to work for conservation projects in the heart of the Buskett woodland and others like it so that it can be enjoyed by creatures big and small.The Maltese Hunting Dog, properly: Il Kelb tal Kacca, may seem like a regular pet to some, or may even be mistaken for a French or Italian hunting dog, but more recent studies have shown that the Kelb tal-Kacca is a distinctly Maltese dog. Yet the story of its exact beginning, just like the story of the Maltese hunter, is something of a mystery. One of the oldest papers to exist which can tell us something of this story was a document, back then called a ‘bandu’. It was the first hunting permit put out in 1773 by the Grandmaster of the time. This meant that the Knights could see that this dog was as essential to the survival of the Maltese hunter as the hunter was to the dog. An affectionate and loyal dog, it has truly earned its place in history as The Maltese hunting dog.
But Malta’s history with the Knights began long after the Maltese had become skilled hunters. When Malta passed through two hundred years of Arab rulers, the Maltese learned something unique to Europe at the time: the art of falconry. With time the Maltese became so famous for it, that when the Knight’s settled in Malta, they were only asked to pay a symbolic rent to King Charles V of one peregrine falcon a year, a Maltese falcon. It is therefore with pride, that the Federation for Hunting & Conservation can confirm that since 2009 peregrine falcons have returned to breed in the wild on our islands every year.
Throughout their history the Maltese islands were passed around by different rulers, and because of this the survival of the Maltese people depended on the careful relationships that they built with nature. One of these relationships had evolved so deeply, that the hunter didn’t even need a weapon when hunting with this animal. It was trust that made for such an unusual relationship between the hunter and these two unlikely creatures. A trust that goes back centuries.
Throughout their history the Maltese islands were passed around by different rulers, and because of this the survival of the Maltese people depended on the careful relationships that they built with nature. One of these relationships had evolved so deeply, that the hunter didn’t even need a weapon when hunting with this animal. It was trust that made for such an unusual relationship between the hunter and these two unlikely creatures. A trust that goes back centuries.
Legend has it that thousands of years ago when Malta was a home to an ancient people called The Phoenicians, a dog was introduced here by traders. It was believed that it is connected to what came to be known to the English as: The Pharoah Hound. But while its English name and features make this dog seem Egyptian, more modern studies have shown that this dog is a Maltese breed of its own, and the last of its kind.
Its speed and long snout made it perfect for hunting wild rabbit; in fact it was so succesful that over time it came called to be called ‘The Rabbit dog’ or in Maltese ‘Il-Kelb Tal-Fenek’. However, where the dog failed, the knowledge of the Maltese hunter came in, but not with a tool or a weapon, but with another curious creature, the use of which quite literally shows how the relationship between the Maltese hunter and nature hangs on a fine thread … a cotton thread.
Its speed and long snout made it perfect for hunting wild rabbit; in fact it was so succesful that over time it came called to be called ‘The Rabbit dog’ or in Maltese ‘Il-Kelb Tal-Fenek’. However, where the dog failed, the knowledge of the Maltese hunter came in, but not with a tool or a weapon, but with another curious creature, the use of which quite literally shows how the relationship between the Maltese hunter and nature hangs on a fine thread … a cotton thread.
Today only a few Maltese still protect these skills, tools and relationships that protected them in the hardest years of their history. But we can’t forget that these simple relationships are our shared history with nature, because to forget that we always depended on nature, is to forget why we need to protect it.
