Deputies shy away from proposal that would encourage illegal bird trapping

STATE AND non-government organisations yesterday reiterated their opposition to a law proposal that would in fact encourage illegal bird trapping if passed.

The proposal, submitted to the committee by Famagusta and Larnaca deputies aims in amending the current hunting law to, among other things, enable on-the-spot fines for people caught trapping birds with limesticks.

A similar proposal submitted last year by the same deputies was shelved after the reaction of various government departments and NGOs.

DISY deputy Christos Pourgourides was quick to distance his party’s parliamentary group from the three party deputies who were among those who tabled the proposal.

“The proposal concerns deputies who submitted it. It does not mean it is the position of the DISY parliamentary group,” Pourgourides told the House Environment Committee.

AKEL followed suit with Andreas Fakontis echoing Pourgourides.

DIKO’s Stelios Ieronymides, whose name was also included on the list of deputies who backed the proposal said he “wasn’t aware at any stage that I signed this proposal. I do not consent to the amendments, remove me from the proposal.”

DISY’s Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis, among those who submitted the proposal, said it aimed in making protection and the jobs of game wardens more effective.

Government departments and NGOs invited to give their views just said they stood by the views submitted before the committee in 2008.

At the time, the Game Fund said if such an amendment was passed, it could send out the message that such crimes were not taken seriously.

The Attorney-general’s office, the state environment service and BirdLife Cyprus also expressed their strong objection to the amendments.

The amendment provides for a one euro fine for each limestick one uses to trap birds.

“Which warden is going to climb on trees to count limesticks,” DIKO’s Sofoklis Fyttis said.

The current law provides for up to €17,000 in fines and or three years in prison.

As presented yesterday, the proposal was somewhat confusing, prompting the chairman of the committee to ask for it to be clarified and re-tabled.

According to figures released by BirdLife Cyprus, an estimated 1.1 million migrating and endemic birds were killed in Cyprus in the past year.

Trapping in the past three years has recorded a spike, BirdLife said, especially as concerns limesticks.

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