MALTA-HUNTING-BIRDS-REFERENDUM

Maltese hunters parade to celebrate the result of the referendum on hunting, on April 12, 2015 in Rabat. Malta has voted in a referendum to continue the controversial tradition of spring hunting in which birds migrating across the Mediterranean are killed before they can breed, exit polls showed today. The issue has stirred passions for years in the island nation, with supporters defending it as a longstanding custom and opponents attacking what they see as a cruel practice that often flouts the law. Malta Prime Minister Joseph Muscat announced that the season would now open on April 14, 2015. AFP PHOTO / MATTHEW MIRABELLI --- MALTA OUT (Photo credit should read Matthew Mirabelli/AFP via Getty Images)