UP TO 20,000 hunters will take to the fields for the opening of the turtledove, woodpigeon and quail shooting season today, which is set to be the island’s largest to date thanks to increasing game bird population and the second highest number of licences ever issued.
The hunting federation has granted 47,716 licences this year, down just slightly from 48,137 in 2010 after more than 300 hunters’ licences were revoked because they were twice caught poaching.
While the slight decline might seem like good news for the island’s wildlife, the federation’s survey suggests that the upward trend in killed game birds and rabbits is set to continue. The hunting season for other game such as partridge and hare is due to begin towards the end of October.
Rabbits, partridge, wood pigeon and francolin hunting all rose last year, with a 15.11 per cent rise for rabbits, 3.78 per cent for partridges, 26.15 per cent for francolins and 24.67 per cent for the wood pigeon.
The quota of wood pigeons hunted during the hunting period November to December, 2010 was, at 79,985, the highest since Game Fund records began in 2001. The lowest quota, in 2003, was 31,408.
Asked about the spiralling numbers of killed birds each year, Game Fund director Pantelis Hadjiyerou said that game bird populations had been rising year on year, and so this was not a conservation issue.
However, Hadjiyerou highlighted a greater and endemic issue facing his 80-strong team when they set out to monitor hunting from today: “Poaching in Cyprus is always a problem – it is in the Mediterranean mentality and there is poaching for both game and non game.”
The 300 hunters’ licences cancelled last year were revoked in accordance with provisions of the Protection and Management of Wild Birds and Game Act, after having two convictions against them for poaching.
Game poaching, according to Hadjiyerou, is not as much of a problem as non-game poaching, which includes trapping migratory birds with lime sticks and mist-nets, to make the local delicacy ambelopoulia.
Birdlife Cyprus’ Martin Hellicar says that illegal bird trapping remains a serious conservation issue on the island. “The migration season has already started and tens of thousands of birds will be caught.”
To highlight this issue, Birdlife will soon publish estimated running totals of the number of illegally trapped birds in Cyprus.
Asked about the forthcoming season, Hellicar said: “It would probably be better to start later to let birds complete their breeding cycle, but as long as the hunters stick to the rules, it is not a conservation issue. Our concern remains that a significant number of hunters do not stick to the rules. For example we get a lot of complaints about hunters shooting near to peoples’ homes.”
Hellicar called on the hunters association to take stronger measures to reign in the rule-breakers and create a responsible hunting culture. “Sustainable hunting is better for all,” he added.
This year’s hunting season is likely to follow a similar pattern to last year’s, which was outlined in a recent hunting association survey.
The survey showed that thrush were the most popular game hunted from 2010 to 2011 with 950,391 being hunted, sky larks coming in second at 563,726, partridges at 363, 748 and wood pigeons at 166, 913. The least hunted were snipe at 309.
Hunters in Larnaca appear to spend the longest amount of time hunting according to the survey at 6.11 hours, with Nicosia hunters second with 6.06 hours, Limassol at 6.025 hours, and Paphos and Famagusta hunters tying at 5.58 hours.
The survey also provided other interesting information such as the age of the oldest active hunter, a 95-year-old man, with the average age of a hunter in Cyprus being 39.07 years of age.
Ahead of the start of the hunting season today, the Forestry Commission issued a statement advising all hunters to take special care to avoid dropping cigarettes, following a spate of rural fires.
