THE COMMITTEE Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) and Friends of the Earth Cyprus are launching a new joint campaign against poaching in the Republic,
aiming to promote the effective implementation of Cypriot and European poaching legislation, by exposing and opposing the non-selective trapping and killing of migrant and resident birds on the island.
The joint campaign of CABS and Friends of the Earth Cyprus embraces a variety of strategies including lobbying at the national and European level in order to put more pressure on decision makers for the determined phasing out of poaching.
It also includes conducting field research in order to evaluate the real impact of non-selective bird trapping and killing methods on bird populations in autumn in Cyprus and raising public awareness at all levels – from the general public and the mass media to elected politicians and public authorities – by distributing information and publishing the findings of the research.
Organising direct-democratic actions, such as a cyberaction against poaching, as well as demonstrative actions aimed at bearing witness to poaching activities and “exposing the bird killing fields of southern-eastern Cyprus”, is also on the agenda, CABS said.
The group also plans conducting non-violent and peaceful direct actions in order to ensure safer passage on migration for birds. These involve searching for and locating limesticks, mist nets and electronic bird lures and their urgent removal or destruction, whenever possible with or by the responsible authorities.
The Coordinator of the “Cyprus Project” for CABS, Dr. Andrea Rutigliano, said: “The CABS spring report published recently demonstrates clearly that bird trapping is far
from being on the wane. Professional limestick trapping in particular now represents a severe threat to migrant birds because of its scale and the increased trapping rate of protected species”.
Klitos Papastylianou, Biodiversity Campaigner for Friends of the Earth Cyprus, added: “Apart from the environmental dimension of poaching, we also have to bear in mind the economic, social, legal and political dimensions of this problem. The illegal use of non-selective bird trapping and killing methods – such as limesticks, mist nets and electronic decoys – supports an entire third black market with an annual budget of dozens of millions of Euros, organised and operated by a wide-scale criminal network.
With this joint campaign, CABS and Friends of the Earth Cyprus are establishing an
active anti-poaching network bringing together environmental organisations and activists, as well as active and conscious citizens, and are mobilising them to take joint action, aimed at decision makers at national and European level, they said.
The two groups call on all citizens, both at home and abroad, to support this new joint campaign by participating in the cyberaction against poaching in Cyprus by signing a petition and sending pledges to Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis, Justice Minister Loucas Louca, and Agriculture Minister Demitris Eliades at either www.foecyprus.weebly.com or http://www.komitee.de/en/
