Ian Ruggier, who recently retired after 26 years in the Maltese army, said being part of MOAS rescues went beyond his expectations.
Last year, the Maltese army was deployed during the spring shoot after recent years in which naturalists had their cars set alight and a BirdLife Malta warden was shot in the face.
More than 44,000 Maltese citizens have signed a petition calling for a referendum on the traditional spring shoot.
An opinion poll found that 60% of Maltese people favoured a ban on spring shooting.
Around 2,200 of the migrants were first picked up by rescuers from the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS), an independent Maltese operation supported by the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
But the Maltese people are set to decide the species' fate on the islands after 13 Maltese charities obtained the signatures of the 10% of registered voters required to trigger a referendum.
"I would like to see some Maltese lads going to the UK to try to stop one of their traditions.
Once clear of the Libyan coast, a distress call is made in the hope that the migrants will be picked up either by a passing merchant ship or fishing boat or by the Italian or Maltese coast guards.
Which invites a question: why should Malta, one of the richest accession countries, burdened with neither a communist past nor problems of civil order, have been granted more than any other acceding country?In this section Justice on trial A Balkan mess Here today, gone tomorrow Oliver gets some more In search of Schwarzenegger Smallness pays No more Maltese falcon A golden age?
But Mr Milosevic would have a right of appeal, causing yet more cost and delay.In this section Justice on trial A Balkan mess Here today, gone tomorrow Oliver gets some more In search of Schwarzenegger Smallness pays No more Maltese falcon A golden age?
Rough analogues are Maltese and Luxembourgish: they are official in Malta and Luxembourg, but in both countries people are routinely bilingual, and most official business is done in other languages (English in Malta, French and German in Luxembourg).
