THE HOUSE of Representatives and the Game Service have called on all hunters not to use a specific cartridge banned this week because of its long range, which could prove deadly for Cypriot hunters.
Game Service head, Pantelis Hadjiyerou, issued an order banning their use on Thursday just days before hunting season gets under way. Violators face up to a three-year prison sentence and £10,000 if caught with the cartridges in their possession.
The cartridges were specifically made for lake hunting in Europe but after the EU outlawed the use of lead pellets in lakes, they found their way from Italy to Cyprus, where they were bought up by avid hunters.
The problem lies in the fact that the specific cartridges have a range of 200 metres and do not disperse as widely as normal cartridges, giving them greater concentration for longer periods and higher velocity. If they strike a person within 50 metres, they could prove deadly. Given the popularity of hunting in Cyprus, the limited hunting space and poor visibility in mountainous regions, the use of the long-range cartridges could prove fatal for the hunting community this season.
The House Environment Committee, which convened yesterday to discuss the issue, said they would pass on the matter to the House Agriculture Committee to fast-track a legal amendment to stop the cartridge from entering Cyprus. At the moment, the cartridge is permitted within the EU and a licence has been given for its import to Cyprus. Licences are next reviewed in January, making it impossible to end the sale and import of the hazardous cartridges.
The only way to avoid fatal accidents was to issue an order preventing their use while hunting. Now, any hunter caught carrying them on his person or in the car while on the way to hunt will be penalised.
A Game Service representative told the House Committee yesterday that the way hunting was conducted in Cyprus with many hunters in a limited area, the consequences of their use could be fatal. He added that the range of the cartridges was 200m but they could kill at 50 or 60m. Their use is for wide spaces and big game like deer and geese, not for the hares and partridges of Cyprus, he said.
Hunting season for hares and partridges begins on October 31. Hunters using the banned cartridges at close range would be putting nearby hunters at serious risk if they miss.
Most of the 68,000 licensed hunters (nine per cent of Cyprus’ total population) abide by the game laws for shooting, although a minority shoot protected species. Around 3.7 million birds are shot every year, of which some 750,000 are shot illegally.
Today, sport hunting is an important socio-economic activity and probably the most popular sport in the island. About 25 per cent of adult males in the island are hunters.
Each year, however, fatalities and injuries are recorded in the mountains, especially at the start to the hunting season.
