BirdLife slams ‘backdoor permission’ to shoot Turtle Doves

A GOVERNMENT decision to allow spring shooting of crows yesterday provoked a strong reaction from BirdLife Cyprus.

The organisation said it viewed the decision as “backdoor permission” to hunters to shoot protected Turtle Doves (Streptopelia turtur).

The EU Birds Directive prohibits the shooting of wild birds in spring to ensure they get a chance to produce their young and sustain their numbers.

“There should be no shooting of any birds during this sensitive migration period,” said Martin Hellicar, BirdLife Cyprus Executive Manager.

Last week, Malta was ordered not to open a spring hunting season for Turtle Dove and Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) by the European Court of Justice.

BirdLife announced that it had already informed the European Commission about the government’s plan to open a six-day hunt in May, while it also filed a formal complaint yesterday claiming this was a clear breach of the EU Birds Directive.

“When the island gave permission for the spring shooting of Turtle doves last year, the European Commission warned Cyprus that it was infringing the EU Birds Directive,” the announcement read. It added that Cyprus had pledged not to open the spring hunting of Turtle Doves again.

“Despite the warning, the government is going ahead under the guise of shooting crows, fulfilling a pre-election promise made to hunters.”

Crow hunting in previous years was allowed in June and July.

“There has been no change in the corvid ecology in Cyprus since last year.

Therefore if June and July were good enough for corvid control last year and the years before that, it is good enough for 2008,” Hellicar said.

The shooting of crows for population control purposes, although not favoured by BirdLife, is not uncommon. But BirdLife insists crow shooting should only take place in specific areas where there is clear evidence of an over-population of crows causing serious damage and that all shooting be strictly supervised.