STOP PRESS: In early December, the Game Fund announced they had carried out raids on eight restaurants in Larnaca town and District suspected of serving trapped birds. The raids, carried out in cooperation with the new Cyprus Police anti-poaching unit, resulted in the charging of four restaurant owners after a total of 883 wild birds were found in freezers in their establishments. These coordinated raids represent a very welcome positive step in the battle against bird trapping.
1. Summary
1.1. Main Findings
1. BirdLife International monitoring of illegal bird trapping activities in Cyprus continued for the 14th season (7th year), with data gathered systematically in the field by a trained team of surveyors and all evidence of trapping relayed to the relevant enforcement authorities.
2. Survey evidence showed that the upturn in trapping detected in 2007 was maintained during 2008, with autumn 2008 showing the highest mist netting levels in any season for five years. Overall trapping levels remain – thanks to enforcement action – much lower than in the 1990s.
3. A public opinion poll commissioned by BirdLife showed increased popularity of trapping (especially with limesticks) and ambelopoulia-eating, even if the public are in general still overwhelmingly opposed to trapping, especially for commercial purposes.
4. An estimated 63 million birds have been saved in Cyprus since the BirdLife monitoring began in 2002, but trappers killed an estimated 776,000 birds across Cyprus this autumn.
5. The gains from trapping-related enforcement action (measured in net seizures and cases opened) were lower in 2008 than in 2007, even though survey evidence suggests trapping activity remained about the same over the period. There remains a “gap” in enforcement where SBA and Republic areas meet.
6. There was a continuing lack of concerted action against restaurants serving trapped birds (ambelopoulia). There was no news of truly prohibitive penalties for convicted trappers being handed down by local courts.
7. The upturn in trapping activity over the last two years, coupled with continued official reluctance to tackle restaurants serving ambelopoulia points to a more permissive political climate.
1.2. Main Recommendations
1. There is an urgent need for a serious crackdown on restaurants serving ambelopoulia.
2. There is a need for an increase in the manpower of enforcement bodies and cooperation between SBA Police and the government Game Fund in areas where their jurisdictions meet.
3. BirdLife Cyprus must continue to push to generate top-level political support for the above actions, including at a European level.
4. Efforts must continue to raise the profile of the trapping issue in the local, Greek-language media with a view to building active support for eradication of trapping.
5. Courts must begin to impose penalties for trapping and ambelopoulia sale offences that are truly deterrent.
6. The BirdLife surveillance project must continue.
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