Bird poaching reaches new heights

A TEAM of international bird conservationists have claimed that illegal poaching in Cyprus has reached new heights, with hundreds of thousands of birds being killed in a period of just a couple of months.
The new report by the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) has revealed that nearly 200,000 birds were killed by poachers in the south east alone during the spring of this year.
The statistics are certain to set alarm bells ringing in Brussels, which had hoped the practice would be stamped out with the islands accession to the bloc in 2004.
The government has continually stated that it was cracking down on the practice and vigorously enforcing existing legislation, but arrests are scarce and sentences have been criticised as being too lenient.
Many opponents of the ban say its prohibition marked the end of a traditional activity that goes back to medieval times and vowed to continue.
According to the group, approximately 11,540 to 13,040 lime sticks were set out by poachers during the spring migration – trapping an estimated 173,000 to 196,000 birds in the Paralimni area.
Other conservationist groups estimate that as many as 2 million birds every year – are caught in nets suspended from poles or on sticks covered with glue, known as “lime sticks”.
CABS say the scale of illegal trapping, which diminished dramatically directly after EU accession, appears to have reached new heights – and despite local opposition, they are determined that their surprise patrols will continue.
The group, who carried out a similar operation for the past three years, monitored the setting out of illegal lime sticks and mist nets and reported such trapping installations to the police.
The report data is derived entirely from that research, which was conducted between April and May by twelve experienced ornithologists. During the operations, 170 gardens and farms were inspected, 48 of which had traps set out and 14 showed signs of previous trapping, the report added.
The team were equipped with video cameras and spotting scopes in order to monitor and record illegal poaching.
“CABS and Friends of the Earth Cyprus consider poaching in Cyprus to be a serious matter, and are declaring that the use of non-selective bird trapping and killing methods – especially limesticks, mist nets and electronic decoys – represents a significant element of the problem,” the report added.
CABS say that out of 23 species affected by the extensive use of lime sticks, 17 are in decline.
Large flocks of birds fly over the island every year during their biannual migration.
Members of the group were savagely beaten up during their anti-poaching operation in Paralimni during the spring, when results for the report were being compiled.
After dismantling scores of illegal lime sticks they were brutally assaulted by three men, an American journalist who was accompanying the team had not anticipated being drawn into – in his words: “a war zone”.
The assault reached a climax when a digital video camera was repeatedly smashed on the head of one CABS member, leaving him barely conscious.
As well as being passed to police and local municipalities, the new report is also being sent directly to the European Commission and the Cyprus government.
Many of the trapped song birds are offered to tourists as a regional delicacy in an industry estimated to be worth several million euros a year.