A brand new report on unlawful songbird trapping in Cyprus has revealed that the variety of birds killed continues to extend, with a staggering 435,000 caught in autumn 2023.
Published on Tuesday [6 March 2024] by BirdLife Cyprus and supported by the RSPB and the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), the Autumn 2023 Trapping Report exhibits that the variety of songbirds killed within the survey space on the island has elevated by an estimated 90,000 to 435,000 in autumn 2023, up from 345,000 in 2022.
Every autumn songbirds are illegally trapped and killed in Cyprus, earlier than being offered by way of the black market to eating places and the native and costly delicacy of ambelopoulia or for home consumption. This large operation, usually linked to organised crime, entails gangs utilizing digital decoys to lure birds into mist nets placed between acacia bushes and inside orchards, or utilizing sticky limesticks to catch birds as they transfer across the vegetation.
Masses of Blackcaps are killed in Cyprus each autumn (Guy Shorrock).
Tackling unlawful songbird trapping
Before the worldwide partnership started to help authorities in tackling this challenge 20 years in the past, greater than 2 million birds had been caught yearly, with an estimated determine of 10 million birds being trapped within the Nineteen Nineties. To sort out this criminal activity, law-enforcement authorities in Cyprus, notably the Sovereign Base Area Police, have labored with BirdLife Cyprus, CABS and the RSPB. This has seen a large discount within the variety of traps being detected and birds being killed.
The partnership estimates that 4.69 km of mistnet rides had been energetic throughout the survey space final autumn, implying a rise throughout the island of 6% in comparison with the earlier yr. While that is nonetheless a lower of 88% since 2002, exhibiting that enforcement and partnership working might be efficient, the stress must be elevated by the authorities. This yr’s improve is because of a regarding rise (41%) within the variety of mistnets discovered within the Sovereign Base Area.
The report additionally notes the welcome reinstatement of the Cyprus Police Anti-Poaching Unit in 2023 that had been abolished in 2019, a key measure the partnership had referred to as for. However, the report notes that the extent of enforcement work undertaken final autumn in opposition to the hen trappers was very disappointing. It provides that, going forwards, this unit must sort out the large-scale, critical and organised trappers nonetheless working with impunity.
Facin challenged
Martin Hellicar, director of BirdLife Cyprus stated: “Despite the excellent progress made in recent years, this autumn was a reminder that this may be rapidly reversed if enforcement assets will not be maintained, as witnessed throughout the British Sovereign Base Areas.
“Within the Republic of Cyprus, regardless of the lower in bird-trapping ranges, we recorded a rise in organised trapping. This may be very regarding, and we anticipate the re-instated Cyprus Police Anti-Poaching Unit to take a extra energetic function in tackling organised trappers, in collaboration with the Game and Fauna Service.
“Moreover, BirdLife Cyprus has been rising its outreach and consciousness elevating marketing campaign, aiming to realize a change within the hearts and minds of the native tradition, from consuming to defending and appreciating them.
“This is a good larger problem to beat, however we’re dedicated to persevering with and assured that finally we are going to see a constructive behavioural change in favour of hen conservation.”
‘Ambelopoulia’ on plate (BirdLife Cyprus).
