A researcher and wildlife filmmaker has said he is considering moving abroad due to the “disgraceful” destruction of nature in his native Malta.
Thomas Cassar, who has caused a stir on social media with his portrayals of flora and fauna, has been campaigning for better protection of the environment in Malta for years.
Now, the 22-year-old admitted: “I really think there is no future in Malta for the natural historian, naturalist, biologist and the scientist because the things you love are actively destroyed.”
Speaking to The Malta Independent, Thomas added: “I’d love to say that it’s a happy place to be and that things I love are going to be there for a long time, but I can’t be honest and say that’s the case.
The biologist labelled the ongoing destruction of nature in his home country “an absolute disgrace” and predicted that Malta’s biodiversity was “lost” if decision-makers would not opt for an immediate turnaround.
Thomas, who described what he saw as “soul-crushing”, also criticised citizens. He argued: “If they are voted for consistently, despite their track record of disrespecting the natural world, then that means there is a problem with the voters because the voters are clearly not prioritising the natural world.”
The council member of the Entomological Society of Malta explained that typical local ecosystems could not survive if they were constantly shattered into fragments by construction projects.
Speaking to The Malta Independent, Thomas warned that the Mediterranean archipelago nation was at a “crossroads.”
He explained: “We can either continue doing what we’ve been doing for centuries and take without giving back or we can actually stop and try to reverse a bit.”
Thomas concluded: “I know there’s no future here for me because everything I work for is disregarded and trampled on.”
