UDMR denies initiating amendment to Hunting Law, accuses USR of misleading public opinion

The Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) says that it is not the initiator of a bill amending and supplementing the Hunting Law and the protection of the hunting grounds, accusing the Save Romania Union (USR) of misleading public opinion by feeding "half-truths or distorted information."

"USR has returned to that attitude and behaviour with which it thought it could govern: misleading public opinion by feeding half-truths or distorted information. This time it is about the bill amending and supplementing the Hunting Law and the protection of the hunting grounds that USR has publicly and falsely presented as being a UDMR initiative. Unfortunately for the USR colleagues who are trying to manipulate truth, the parliamentary procedure is clear, transparent and available to all," UDMR said in a press statement released on Tuesday.

UDMR says that on the website of the Chamber of Deputies in the file of the legislative proposal 369/2021, it is "very clearly" stipulated that the bill was initiated by MP Gheorghe Nacov, with 25 other lawmakers affixing their signatures to it later on: eight UDRM lawmakers and the remaining being MPs of the National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the group of national minorities.

"Moreover, at the time of submitting the legislative proposal to a vote, UDMR did not impose a compulsory vote, with each member of the group being urged to vote according to their own beliefs. For example: leader of the UDMR floor group Csoma Botond voted against. UDMR clearly delimits itself from this eminently political approach and asks the USR representatives to stop using 'fake news' practices in communicating with the citizens."

USR lawmakers announced on Tuesday that they are filing a constitutionality objection with the Constitutional Court over the bill amending the Hunting Law that includes hunting quotas for migratory bird species.

According to a USR statement, the changes adopted "may lead to the decimation of certain species of migratory birds, with a devastating effect on biodiversity" and are contrary to European Community law.

In its objection, USR claims that the law was initiated "by 25 MPs and senators, among them UDMR MPs Benedek Zacharie, Farago Petru, Gal Karoly, Konczei Csaba, Ladanyi Laszlo-Zsolt, Magyar Lorand-Balint, and Szabo Onab."