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Draft your own letter to your local MEP or his party grouping. As a basis for your letter, in your own language, a text containing
the main points is given below. the mail or postal address of your MEP can be found here....
MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
If you want to use this text as a basis for your mail/letter
... mark, copy and paste from below this
line .....
WE CAN'T FOREVER TURN A BLIND EYE TO THE MASS SLAUGHTER OF 20 MILLION BIRDS A YEAR ON CYPRUS
Dear (MEP),
In the year 2000 some twenty MILLION birds were illegally trapped or shot on Cyprus. Most of these birds are migratory
species and are therefore part of the pan-European natural heritage.
The majority of these protected species
are trapped in mist nets or with lime sticks, and die a lingering death. The trapped birds are usually killed, the exception
being any particularly exotic species which might be retained alive for the caged bird trade. Unwanted species are simply
killed and discarded, the remainder are killed and sold as 'ambellopoulia', a high-priced delicacy on the island. The birds
are pickled or grilled, and sold in tavernas for about 1.50 Cyprus pounds (US$2.25) each. A diner will typically eat his way
through a dozen or more 'ambellopoulia'. The trapping, sale and serving of these birds is illegal, but the law is not observed.
A substantial number of the birds are also trapped within the British military Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) on the
island, which are wholly under British jurisdiction. The fact that the British authorities have not taken effective action
against this cruel and barbaric practice in the past is reprehensible; but recent information suggests that they are giving
the problem more serious consideration. If so this is good news; but deeds will speak louder than words.
We urge
you to pursue this matter within the European Parliament by:
- putting pressure on the Cyprus Government, who
are in line for EU membership in 2004, to take effective measures to combat this barbaric practice
- requiring
the Briti sh Government, as an EU member, to fulfil its obligations in the SBAsunder European law [Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC)]
and [Wild Birds (79/409/EEC)]
- encouraging both governments to coordinate operations and to cooperate wholeheartedly
in this matter. Their apparent lack of concern hinders the optimising of joint resources and harmonising of activities; and
makes then the laughing-stock of the criminals who make huge, untaxed profits from this brutal trade.
As part
of a concerted campaign, communications are being sent to the responsible Cyprus and British Government ministers, to the
British administrative authorities on the bases and the news media in European countries and on Cyprus.
Trusting
that we can count on your active interest and involvement, we remain,
yours sincerely,
[Name
and Address]
..... to above this line
Please copy any mails you send to:
This helps us, at Proact and on Cyprus, to monitor the scope of the campaign and increase our effectiveness in future.
Thank you,
David Conlin
Proact Coord
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