A GROUP OF hunters violently assaulted and threatened to shoot residents, including a 56-year- old woman for interrupting their illegal shoot in the Famagusta area, on Tuesday, the couple said yesterday.
The attack took place around 5pm after the couple demanded two men stop shooting within range of their homes.
Maria (not her real name) said:”They were firing towards our houses, Birds were dropping out of the sky like flies and they were so close that pellets were falling into our neighbour’s garden. We saw them land in the swimming pool”.
Under Cypriot law it is illegal to fire a gun within 500 metres of any built up area.
When neighbours asked the pair to move away from the houses – something Maria says is a daily occurrence – they called two friends and carried on shooting “straight towards our property.”
Maria, her husband and their three neighbours confronted the hunters again, and an argument ensued. “They called us English bastards, and said to us ‘All English leave Cyprus now, this is our land’.”
“One of the hunters took a swing at our neighbour, then another hunter, who was the main troublemaker, knocked my husband to the ground, sat on him and punched him. We rushed to pull him off and as we did so he kicked my husband.”
Seeing the lightly built 46-year-old kicked while he was down, the neighbour and his son attacked the hunter, kicking him in the face. Maria added “The friends then joined in and a fight started. That was when they kicked me, a 56-year-old woman.”
The brawl came to an abrupt halt when one hunter fetched his loaded gun. “We thought he was going to shoot us, but he seemed to change his mind. Instead he took it apart and swung at the neighbour’s son with the stock.” The men left soon after learning that the police were on their way.
“It was nasty and frightening, We have lived here happily for three years except for these bullying inconsiderate excuses for humans”
The story gets worse, however.
In an alarming display of apathy, the phone operator for the emergency police helpline told Maria’s neighbour: “You are not within our jurisdiction. Call a different number” and then hung up.
When the local number was found and called a police officer arrived within 15 minutes. He confirmed that he knew the identity of the hunters and promised to speak to them. He duly did this, and, returning at dusk, told the residents he had found and spoken to the hunters. Maria said: “He told us the men would not return and added: ‘There will be no reprisals. The matter had been dealt with.’ “
“I don’t know what he did or said but when I told him the husband and son had gone to Dherynia station to press charges, he seemed concerned. He then discouraged us from doing this and made an anxious call to the station. He said it would mean a long court cases, and would be our word against theirs.”
To their alarm and grave concern, the hunters returned that night. “They came into the bunker next to our house and started taking photos of us. We immediately called the police and when they arrived, the hunters left very slowly.” Maria said. Their casual exit suggests that whatever the policeman said, it was not enough to deter them”
Antonis Kakoulis, President of the Cyprus Hunting Association confirmed the problem and explained their strategy to combat it. He said yesterday: “We have heard reports about hunters getting near houses. The security of residents is our top priority, but it is a complicated issue and we have to balance things. Firstly we try to explain to hunters that times have changed and they cannot shoot near buildings. If they ignore the warning, then we take them to court.”
There are 47000 licensed hunters in Cyprus. Kakoulis estimates there are fewer than 1,000 unlicensed hunters.
