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By a Staff Reporter
THE British Bases police are quite right to publicise the results of their crackdown on the illegal trapping of migratory birds, and they deserve praise for making it clear that the authorities are finally beginning to tackle this outdated and barbaric practice. Of course, there's a very long way to go yet, but it was vital that a message be sent to the trappers and hunters who for too long have taken advantage of the blind eyes turned in their direction.
The figures released by Bases police are encouraging. Poaching equipment worth up to 10,000 CY pounds has been seized and is to be destroyed. It includes 588 mist nets, 207 loudspeakers - which broadcast bird calls to entice migratory birds to their death - 274 limesticks, and more than 10,000 metres of wire and cables. Since August last year, 28 people have been arrested on suspicion of poaching. It is welcome evidence of what Dhekelia police sergeant Panayiotis Panayi described as "a very pro-active campaign against the poachers".
He and his colleagues will be aware that, when set against the figures on the other side of the scale - illegal trapping of these small birds is a highly lucrative trade - the progress so far is marginal. But at least it indicates to the perpetrators that they can now run up against the law; in recent years those protesting and trying to take some action against the illegal trapping have been limited to wildlife activists, some local residents and tourists.
What has to happen now is that the campaign continues and is stepped up, and that those poachers who have been caught are hit hard in the courts. The statement released by the British Bases police does not say whether suspects have been dealt with, although it does spell out that convicted poachers face a fine of up to 10,000 CY pounds. It would be totally counter-productive if the courts, as they so often do, impose only a small fine on the guilty ones; that would not only be a disincentive for the police, it would also send a completely wrong message to all the other poachers who still enjoy rich pickings.
The campaign against those who use 'sticky sticks' and mist nets must also be widened. Limesticks are openly sold in shops, and restaurants openly advertise that they serve ambellopoulia. Recent letters to the Cyprus Mail from bird lovers and environmentalists have pointed out that Cyprus, whose impending accession to the European Union is seen as one of the prime reasons for the current progress in settlement talks, is blatantly flouting bird protection legislation by ignoring illegal trapping and shooting of migratory birds. The efforts of the Bases police are to be commended, but clearly Cyprus must be seen to be clamping down on all aspects of this illegal practice.
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