CONSERVATIONISTS yesterday slammed the proposal by seven opposition MPs from different parties who are gunning for two amendments to the anti-poaching law, which will be discussed at the House today.
The first proposal is to reduce the maximum punishment for lime-sticking from €17,000 and/or three years in prison, to just €1 per stick, effectively making it a minor offence.
The second allows game wardens to issue on the spot €100 fines for possession of a tape recorder, which are used to lure in game birds.
The amendments coincide with reports that up to 1.4 million birds have been killed for ambelopoulia – a restaurant delicacy in Cyprus – since Autumn 2009.
BirdLife Cyprus attribute this death toll to a 47 per cent increase in the illegal use of mist nets, and an alarming 187 per cent increase in the use of lime-sticks (glue covered sticks used to catch small birds) this winter, compared to winter 2008/2009.
According to Claire Papazoglou, Director of BirdLife Cyprus, the amendments would boost an already growing ambelopoulia industry, with devastating environmental consequences, since the revenue from sale of trapped birds as delicacies would far outweigh any possible fines.
“These amendments are tantamount to a proposal to open the trapping floodgates,” She said yesterday. “This is the fourth attempt by the same group of MPs to relax the anti-poaching provisions. 2010 is the year of biodiversity and it is time parliament took on board the seriousness of the trapping situation and throw out this amendment,” Papazoglou said.
Regarding the second amendment, BirdLife said that the €100 fine would also cover the killing of the birds.
“This would mean that shooting a protected bird or trapping without using a calling device would be punishable by a fine of up to €17,000 and/or up to three years behind bars, but the same offence committed with use of a calling device (a far more likely scenario) would carry a penalty of a €100 on-the-spot fine.”
Former Hunting Association President, and DISY MP Andreas Kyprianou said yesterday the new proposals would let wardens catch many more illegal hunters and bird trappers, since they would spend less time processing perpetrators.
“Under the current system, wardens have to arrest hunters then go to court, taking four or five hours for just a €150 fine. This proposal lets them to catch and fine hundreds of illegal hunters in a day instead of just a few.”
Kyprianou insists that punishments would remain for limesticking and mistnetting with or without birdsong. “The €100 fine is just for game hunters who use tape recorders, because this is unfair on other hunters.”
Despite raids by Cypriot and SBA police, 1,000 prosecutions in five years, trappers are killing ever greater numbers with impunity. Ambelopoulia is widely available.
Birdlife spokesman Martin Hellicar said: “A key gap in enforcement efforts remains the continued absence of effective or determined action against the restaurants fuelling trapping by continuing to illegally serve trapped bird “delicacies”.”
He added “Both the SBA Police and the Game Fund must be reinforced to re-double the enforcement effort, while there is also a glaring need for consistently deterrent court penalties for convicted trapping offenders.”
