THE hunting season got off to a tragic start on Sunday with one man killed, 23 others injured and dozens of dogs poisoned, the latter apparently a result of a territorial dispute between groups of hunters.
The human tragedy was the sudden death of 43-year-old hunter Adamos Papantoniou from Ayia Napa. Papantoniou had gone to Paphos to hunt in the area of Santa Barbara when he lost consciousness and fell. Pathologist Eleni Antoniou who conducted the post-mortem examination said Papantoniou had had a heart attack. The hunter was a travel agent by profession and leaves behind a wife and two young children aged 12 and 8.
In one of the more serious accidents 64-year-old hunter Kyriacos Andreou has been left fighting for his life in hospital after tripping over and accidently discharging his gun into his own abdomen. He was transported to Limassol where he underwent surgery and is currently in intensive care in critical condition. Hospital sources say that the majority of the 23 injured were either shot accidently or had suffered a fall.
President of the Hunting Association Anthony Kakoullis said yesterday that he had already warned hunters prior to the big day on issues of safety.
“All hunters must respect the unwritten and written laws of the game. Always wear an orange jacket so that you are seen and show full respect for the habitat and the prey,” he said. Kakoullis also asked hunters to obey the instructions of the Game Fund officials and the anti-poaching squad of the police department.
In an unprecedented cruel twist, dozens of dog owners mourned the loss of their dogs on the first day of the new hunting season as many canines were inexplicably poisoned around the island.
“The dogs were probably poisoned due to rivalries and disputes among hunters. Hunters place bait to prevent other hunters reaching areas where they hunt,” head of the Game Fund Pantelis Hadjiyerou told ASTRA radio, adding that some dogs may also have consumed poison put out by farmers to kill foxes. Kakoulis also condemned the poisoning of the dogs calling it “a cowardly action”.
Athos Efstathiou of the Zopiros Veterinary Clinic in Strovolos, Nicosia described the mass poisonings as the most disturbing incident he had ever encountered. Efstathiou said he personally knew of at least 13 dogs that were killed on Sunday.
“This has never happened before, and I have had my clinic for 12 years,” he said.
Of particular concern, he said, is that he did not believe Lanate, the traditional poison in animal deaths, was used in these cases.
“Dog owners were frantically calling me all day on Sunday and described the poison as an orange gel,” he said.
In March 2008, following an EU decision products containing methomyl, the core ingredient in poisons such as Lanate, were withdrawn from the market. Although a few months later, the EU issued another decision, approving the use of methomyl as a plant protecting product, it was made available only under certain guidelines.
Efstathiou explained that Lanate is no longer available in Nicosia and when the owners tried to apply Lanate antidotes the dogs failed to respond.
“I will try and conduct my own research to find out where this poison comes from and have spoken to a number of colleagues who also cannot explain it,” he said. “In a way it would be better if the killers used Lanate because at least we have antidotes for that.”
Green Party MP George Perdikis also condemned the poisonings, saying that he was outvoted 46 to 1 in parliament when trying to pass a law to place even stricter controls on the most popular poisons and that according to his data there are about 400 cases of animal poisonings a year.
