Trapping in Cyprus

Cyprus has a mountain to climb if it is to reverse disturbing recent trends in illegal bird trapping.   Autumn 2009 was a disastrous season for bird trapping and more specifically for mist netting. A 35% increase in mist net use showed that Cyprus is rapidly loosing all that it has gained in the battle against bird trapping over the past 10 years. 

Bird trapping is an illegal and indiscriminate practice that threatens many bird species of conservation concern and especially migrants. With the well-documented combined effects of Climate Change, habitat loss and habitat degradation already hitting migrant birds hard, this is an added pressure this vital portion of biodiversity cannot afford. BirdLife Cyprus’s monitoring of autumn bird trapping continued for the 8th year in a row with data gathered systematically in the field by a trained team of surveyors and all evidence of trapping relayed to the relevant enforcement authorities.

The field evidence points clearly to a rise in trapping activity last autumn – an alarming one in the case of mist netting. A total of just over 3 km of active net rides were located by the survey team – a 35% increase on the autumn of 2008.  Netting levels were particularly high in the British Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs), notably on the Pyla Range. A British-army backed sweep operation in this area in early October was a welcome first step in tackling ‘industrial’ trapping on the Range.  Lime stick use also increased in autumn 2009, and was largely the preserve of the Republic areas.

In keeping with the pattern of recent years, there was widespread evidence of many restaurants in the Republic serving illegal bird delicacies (ampelopoulia), and no reports of effective enforcement action against these. Hundreds of thousands of birds can be estimated to have fallen prey to trappers in autumn 2009 – an unacceptable toll. Adding insult to injury, a group of members of the Parliament from the trapping ‘heartland’ of Famagusta made a repeat attempt to push thorough the parliament a bill slashing penalties for trapping.

The UK House of Parliament passed a resolution pressuring the Cyprus Government to adopt harder actions against this illegal practice.

Repeats of the October 2nd large-scale sweep operation of the Cape Pyla trapping ‘black spot’ must become the norm, BirdLife Cyprus insists. Crucially, Nicosia must at long last decisively tackle the restaurants fueling trapping by serving ambelopoulia.

For more information please contact Martin Hellicar, Campaigns Manager at BirdLife Cyprus at  martin.hellicar@birdlifecyprus.org.cy 

Source - Birdlife International