Cyprus: killing Europe’s songbirds for a snack?
By Charlie • March 26, 2009 • 43 comments
Just what is it about southern Europe that causes some of its citizens to act like throwbacks to the Stone Age: the weather, the lack of effective policing, a hole where morality would normally reside?
I only ask because over the last two weeks a number of items have appeared on the BirdLife International website reporting on the illegal trapping of songbirds in Cyprus. Headlines like “Migratory birds served in Cypriot restaurants” raised comparisons of the dire situation which faced migrant birds unfortunate to reach the blood-soaked archipelago of Malta (which has featured in the past on 10,000 Birds, for example Visit Malta? Not bloody likely and More Bird News from Malta).
Incidentally before any outraged Maltese mail me - yet again - saying I don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a paragraph taken from the BirdLife Malta report “Springwatch 2008″ - The data presented in this report highlights the fact that illegal hunting was widespread in Malta, despite a ban on spring hunting in 2008. This can be seen both by the large number of illegal hunting incidents observed by BirdLife Malta Spring Watch teams over the course of the two and a half week period and the wide range of areas where these illegal activities occurred.” (http://www.birdlifemalta.org/photos/otherfiles/436.pdf)
However, BirdLife Malta also reports that “the ban on hunting after 15:00 in September proved remarkably successful at decreasing the number of shot protected species…This significant improvement shows that with time and effort things can and do change.”
That’s an encouraging message, so perhaps it’s time the world’s birdwatchers and avian welfare groups focussed on Cyprus because, remarkably, the slaughter of songbirds in Cyprus is on an even larger scale.
At just 9,250 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in north Cyprus), the island of Cyprus is very roughly 7% the size of England or New York State, would fit into Texas almost seventy times, and has a population of just under 800,000 (July 2008 estimate). They can’t all go hunting or bird trapping, but somehow between March 2008 and February 2009 a staggering 1.1 MILLION birds were shot, netted, or caught on limesticks in Cyprus.
That shocking figure comes from a Birdlife Cyprus report entitled “Cyprus bird trapping surveillance project: Winter 2008-09 report” which Martin Hellicar, Executive Director of BirdLife Cyprus, kindly sent me. A brief look at the ‘Conclusions & Recommendations’ section reveals the following disturbing/shocking/disgusting statistics:
BirdLife’s second season of winter trapping surveillance identified a sharp (around 60%) increase in netting activity compared to the previous winter. The rise in limestick use detected in the field is an additional reason for concern.
These increased levels of trapping activity led to an estimated 50% rise in the numbers of birds caught by trappers in the winter of 08/09 compared to the winter of 07/08. Some 66,000 birds are estimated to have died in nets and on limesticks during the winter past.
The toll of migrant and other birds over the 12-month period between March 2008 and February 2009 can be estimated at just over 1.1 million birds, which is similar to the death toll for the preceding 12 months.
Before going any further it’s worth pointing out here that Cyprus joined the European Community in 2004. Under the ‘Conservation of Wild Birds’ 1979 Directive, Member States must:
- protect, manage and regulate all bird species naturally living in the wild within the European territory of the Member States, including the eggs of these birds, their nests and their habitats;
- regulate the exploitation of these species.
- conserve, maintain or restore the biotopes and habitats of these birds by:
- creating protection zones;
- maintaining the habitats;
- restoring destroyed biotopes;
- creating biotopes.
It is also prohibited:
- to deliberately kill or capture the bird species covered by the Directives. However, the Directives authorise the hunting of certain species on condition that the methods used comply with certain principles (wise use and balanced control, hunting outside the period of migration or reproduction, prohibition of large-scale or non-selective killing or catching methods);
- to destroy, damage or collect their nests and eggs;
- to disturb them deliberately;
- to detain them.
There are also rules defining which hunting methods are banned - e.g. non-selective hunting and trapping. It’s hard to see that Cyprus is honouring the agreements it signed when, for example, “Some 66,000 birds are estimated to have died [non-selectively] in nets and on limesticks during the winter past”.
I imagine there will be some 10,000 Birds readers who don’t know what a ‘lime-stick’ is (it’s hardly something you expect to come across these days). Well, imagine a stick covered in glue, and you’ve got it. While we’re at it, imagine being a small bird landing on a twig (the stick) only to find yourself hanging upside down, stuck fast no matter how hard you struggle, until some grinning oaf comes and literally rips you off the stick leaving little bits of you behind…sort of like the future awaiting these birds actually…
Photos copyright RSPB
And what happens to the majority of these birds? They’re plucked, peeled, and sold as snacks known locally as ambelopoulia. Despite it being illegal to sell ambelopoulia the banned ‘delicacies’ remain widely available, principally because of a supine government that either actively supports restaurateurs by turning a ‘blind eye’ or doesn’t think that birds are worth protecting so can’t be bothered to enforce the law. (Is there another reason? Why not mail me and let me know…)
In 2008 only 9 restaurateurs were charged for serving ambelopoulia, and Martin Hellicar says, “Bird trapping is coming back to haunt us in a big way and the reason is the same as it has always been: there is a lot of money to be made out of it, and it will continue as long as restaurants are allowed to break the law”.
Is Cyprus an impoverished, developing nation without supermarkets or food outlets, crippled by famine or lack of regular protein sources, or - perhaps - a desert? Are Cypriots so starved that they need to feast on the 5gm of meat the average Blackcap will provide?
Of course not. This is another shameful example of ‘culture’ being used as an excuse for cruelty. Of greedy, well-fed people who couldn’t give a toss about Europe’s bio-diversity despite being happy to share in the region’s wealth.
Is there anything we can do about this slaughter?
Here’s an interesting fact: For the period January - February 2009 revenue from tourism is estimated to have been worth EUR 67.5 mln/USD 85.25 mln. Tourism is hugely important to the Cypriot economy, and in fact increasing numbers of birders go to Cyprus during the main migration periods. Is it legitimate to ask what they do while they’re there to help stop the mass killing of the very birds they’ve gone to see? I think so, and the answer has to be ‘Not a lot’ judging by the increase in hunting and trapping recorded by BirdLife Cyprus…
Would boycotting Cyprus for a year nudge the government into respecting the rules of the EU? Would going somewhere else and emailing the government to explain that it’s their shockingly lax attitude to protecting migrants that made your decision be any help? It has to be better than standing blithely by and saying nothing while some of the locals are pulling highly distressed birds off limesticks just round the corner.
1.1 MILLION birds killed in twelve months in an area the size of a large postage-stamp. I don’t want to pick on birders, but surely we can do better than just feel a little shocked before going ahead and booking that trip to Cyprus anyway? At the very least wouldn’t offering support to local conservation groups, like BirdLife Cyprus, make the trip a little more valuable to the birds that we all claim to love so much? Let’s face it, if WE can’t be roused enough to show our intense displeasure then why should the Cypriots?
Talk of ‘boycotts’ may be way off the mark. Not everyone in Cyprus is a savage of course (though I’d be interested to learn just what percentage of Cypriots eat Blackcaps), and hitting out at everyone indiscriminately is a very blunt method of showing your anger. I need to learn more, and what I’m hoping is that 10,000 Birds will (and will soon) talk to representatives of BirdLife Cyprus and find out what THEY would like us to do.
In the meantime we’re going to keep putting the facts about Cyprus’s disgraceful disregard for birds online. The more information we can get the better, and if you’ve been to Cyprus and have any information or data or images you’d like to share with us please email me.
1.1 MILLION birds killed in twelve months…come on folks, that simply can not be allowed to happen again.
All photographs copyright of the RSPB or BirdLife Cyprus and used with permission
BirdLife Cyprus is a registered non-governmental organization (NGO) that dedicates itself to the conservation of wild birds and their habitats in Cyprus. It was formed in 2003 through the merger of the two Cyprus Ornithological Societies and now has offices in Strakka, Nicosia.
BirdLife Cyprus is the Cyprus representative of BirdLife International – a globally active conservation organization that operates in over 100 countries and territories worldwide and is the recognized global authority on birds.
BirdLife Cyprus aims to promote the study and protection of the birds of Cyprus and their habitats, and to enable the citizens of Cyprus and other countries to play their part in achieving this goal.
The organization runs a number of campaigns and monitoring projects to ensure it can fight against activities that threaten wild birds, such as illegal hunting and trapping, and the destruction and degradation of habitats, with a particular focus on Important Bird Areas (IBAs).
Website: http://www.birdlifecyprus.org/
Just to put a little plug in for myself, I’ve been blogging on the Cyprus bird killing fiascos as a member of BirdLife Cyprus for a while. I for one really appreciate the attention that you and others have given to this problem, and welcome more! The more pressure Cyprus gets from the international community, the more they’re likely to actually enforce laws and reduce things like Ambelopoulia consumption.
Thanks!
Hi Dan - Plug away, because I’m almost ashamed to admit I’ve not read your excellent blog before. I wish I had, and I wish I’d got off my butt and written about Cyprus much earlier. I’m not going to let this issue fade now I’ve finally got round to it (I’m talking with Martin Hellicar next month about coming over in the autumn and blogging ‘live from the field’ as it were). Would you be interested in helping us prepare another article (based on your experiences)- I’d very much welcome your input into what you think both a) birders who might visit Cyprus and b) birders who never will ought to be doing about the situation?
Cheers
Martin is a great guy, would be a great addition to any blog. I usually don’t go around advertising for myself, and most of the other members of BirdLife Cyprus probably aren’t even aware I blog on it.
I’d be happy to help with any such article, although Martin is still the go-to guy since he’s in the offices (that’s his job).
For birders, I would say just help to get the word out, and disseminate the statistics and information that Martin’s office puts out on behalf of BirdLife Cyprus. Most people (birders included) forget that one of the best things that they can do to help such problems is spreading awareness.
For an example of something that people could talk about, and Martin could help inform us (me included) better on, are some of the areas near Paralimni where a lot of trapping occurs. There, while the surrounding areas are semi-arid and without thick vegetation most of the year, the locals use up a lot of water to irrigate the area so that trees and shrubs grow more thick. The locals know that songbirds will concentrate in such areas, which is why they do it.
And then they put up their mist nets and lime sticks. And government and law enforcement turn a blind eye, or so I’m told.
It always strikes me how much more difficult it is to get close to songbirds in Europe compared to a) North America b) Africa c) New Zealand d) Central Asia e) heck - every place I’ve been to outside Europe.
This surely must be the result of the excessive hunting pressure European songbirds experience along their migration routes. And if so, then the trapping on Cyprus, in France, Spain, Malta, Italy and elsewhere around the Mediterranean has a direct impact on the quality of “our” birding hobby! As a consequence, everyone with an interest in watching birds must also have a strong interest in having these crimes stopped, not only for the sake of conservation but also from a very egoistic perspective: these guys mess up our hobby by putting their interests above ours! And that’s just plain wrong no matter how you look at it.
By strange coincidence, I just became aware of lime sticks last night. In Salman Rushdie’s latest novel, The Enchantress of Florence, he has Niccolo Machiavelli and a friend catching songbirds this way in Renaissance Italy. Reading the passage I thought, “What a barbaric old custom.” I never dreamt it could still be popular.
With thanks, I linked to this post in my blog today.
http://vaneramos.livejournal.com/624067.html
Just what is it about southern Europe that causes some of its citizens to act like throwbacks to the Stone Age: the weather, the lack of effective policing, a hole where morality would normally reside?
We often have the same problem in the Southern US. Not with birds, just generally. I think the heat bakes people’s brains…
You GO, Charlie. You GO. Thank you for this impassioned and informed post. I see no one has stepped forth to defend an indefensible activity.
Thanks Julie, I really do appreciate support from you and popular bloggers like you - it’s hugely important to get this message out. No. no-one’s defended it so far - it’s the weekend though, maybe they’re all out killing frightened birds…
Dan: Martin’s away for a few days. I’ll be talking to him again in about a week. I’ll definitely mention the deliberate luring of migrants by watering patches of vegetation…beggars belief how nasty these people are…
Van, thanks for the link
Jochen, you’re so right. The whole of the Mediterranean region (as you know) is a disaster area for birds. It’s amazing anything survives, and on top of the hunting/trapping migrant birds are facing massive habitat change, increased human populations everywhere, climate change, drought in Africa…it’s a wonder there’s a bird left in Europe!
Nate:
Where do most of the tourists on Cyprus come from? The UK, Germany? Is this barbaric trapping widely known in these countries?
The Germans are heavily into ‘green living’ (maybe the English, too, but I wouldn’t know never having lived there). If you get this information out into their mass media, I am sure there will be outrage and pressure on the tourism industry.
I remember vacationing on Ischia, Italy, in spring 30 years ago and not hearing a single bird in the woods and fields on that island in the Bay of Naples.
Flora: that’s a great question, I don’t know where the majority of tourists to Cyprus come from. That’s something I’ll ask Martin Hellicar if I can get an interview or similar with him…
Re how widely known is it that Cyprus is such a dangerous place for a songbird - it’s pretty widely-known (amongst birders and interested parties anyway) that there’s a problem, but the actual figures and stats are perhaps not so widely known. I think also that we’ve been hearing about the cruelty of hunters/trappers in Cyprus/Malta/southern Italy for so long it’s dropped off the radar a little - I’m certainly as guilty as anyone as far as that goes. However, I don’t intend to be so careless again…
Maybe one of the solutions is to increase the profile by running Spring Camps on Cyprus to report on and disrupt the hunting in the same way as happened for a number of years on Malta.
There also needs to be more pressure put on the EU to enforce it’s laws with fines on countries that flout them.
Thanks for visiting and contributing to the discussion on my blog post!
See http://www.komitee.de/en/index.php?cyprus2009 for the CABS spring camp report and our informative CABS Cyprus Video at http://www.komitee.de/en/index.php?youtube_cyprus
David Conlin
CABS Operations Officer
The photos of the doomed birds give a full appreciation of Shakespeare’s heart-rending metaphor:
“O limed soul, that, struggling to be free,
Art more engaged!”
(Hamlet, Act III)
Very interesting article. I have lived in Cyprus 9 years and have a great interest in wildlife preservation. I have noticed a massive decline in hunting over the years to what is now almost non existent.
As for the bird trapping this too has declined sustantially as mentioned by David Conlin above. What annoys me is unsubstantiated and hugely exaggerated statistics by CABS that bear little relation to the truth and old Library pictures I have seen so many times.
I seriously doubt 1.1 m birds ever passed through Cyprus in a year. If this ever were the case perhaps investigation should be nearer the start of their migration.
Incidently the tourism figures are also considerably inflated.
I in no way condone mist netting and limestick trapping but get facts correct and give honest credit where it due where these practises have decreased.
Phelps: Thanks for your mail. I’d like to answer it fully as it raises some interesting - albeit incorrect - points:
Firstly, trapping has NOT “declined sustantially”. On October 3rd we posted a letter from Martin hellicar, BirdLife Cyprus CEO to the Bern Convemtion which stated that “Levels of limestick use detected in the main trapping areas during the four-week period August 31st to September 25th were almost double (83% increase) those detected in the Autumn of 08″. (http://10000birds.com/limesticking-on-cyprus-on-the-rise.htm)
Secondly, the figures on migration come direct from BirdLife and I actually asked Martin Hellicar in an interview in April this year (http://10000birds.com/interview-martin-hellicar-birdlife-cyprus.htm) if he could back the figures up as I knew (correctly) they would be challenged. He said, “Our numbers are estimates and meant to give a ballpark estimate of the extent of the problem, but we stand by the method we follow to arrive at these numbers. Basically, we have a very good picture – thanks to our systematic field monitoring of trapping areas – of how many nets and limesticks are being set each autumn, winter and spring. We also have good knowledge of the “killing power” of these illegal devices. It is then just a matter of simple multiplication.
More importantly, our data on the trends in trapping activity are indisputable, as we are able to make a simple comparison between seasons and years based on systematic, repeat surveying of a randomly selected sample of areas within the known trapping “heartlands”.”
Thirdly, the stats on tourist revenue came directly from a Cypriot government website (http://www.pio.gov.cy/mof/cYSTat/STATIsTics.NSF/transport_en/transport_en?OpenDocument). Please feel free to check it yourself.
Fourthly, as for giving credit where it’s due - are you suggesting I give credit to the conservation organisations who work so hard to stop this ILLEGAL hunting or the local enforcement agencies, because er, I do that already. I’m certainly not going to give credit to the hunting community for being backed into a corner by EU rules and regulations, because there’s no way they’d simply stop by themselves.
You know I get really irked by people telling me I get the facts wrong when the truth is I NEVER make things up: I research properly and I quote correctly - unlike it seems the vast majority of correspondents who complain about the reporting I do on the situation facing migrants on both Cyprus and Malta.
This started when I read the CABS report saying 10 million birds migrate through Cyprus in a year and even Birdlife stated they did not agree with this although they published the article. I doubt that even 1.1 million birds migrate through Cyprus in a year. I have lived here in Cyprus 9 years and can confirm the bird population has decreased steadily since 2001 and clearly not all due to Hunting of any kinds.
MH in the interview says “Our numbers are estimates and meant to give a ballpark estimate” based on a small amount of data multiplied, and statistical trends. In no way can this be construed to be Fact.
As for tourism surely you are aware the Cypriot Government give propoganda figures not to discourage tourism or its citizens.
I actually can prove hunting (shooting)has decreased significantly over the past three years and actually you do need to give credit to reformed net/limestick hunters who have seen the light since they are your voice in Cyprus.
I appreciate your feelings on this campaign and am on your side but estimate, ball park, multiplied data does not make fact and can harm the cause
I’ll just comment shortly on this debate. Although we did not meet eye to eye on figures with BirdLife Malta (BLM) in the past, we now cooperate more closely and need to set baseline figures for the present day (numbers of migrants and numbers trapped/killed). I will not discuss hunting as we focus on the much more serious problem of trapping for ambelpoullia and the concomitant illegal trade.
We (and Edith Loosli and her team) use different methodology to BLM - some would say more robust with a high risk of confrontation - and this leads not only to different results but the discovery that trappers have changed their tactics to avoid getting caught. You can read more in our spring report, available as download here http://www.komitee.de/en/index.php?cyprus2009. The present situation, whether or not it has subjectively improved since ????, is still bad and totally unacceptable for a EU member state. The political will to eliminate the problem is lacking and anti-poaching resources are still too few and not proactive enough. In addition trapping birds on lime sticks is still regarded as a misdemeanour and prosecutions are few. This might be understandable if this practice was confined to a few old farmers. It is NOT. It is a highly organised, criminal activity with a lot of money at stake. It is bad enough to have to attempt to deal with the problem on the ground with little official support; armchair critics Mr Phelps, regardless of where they live, are of little help. @ Phelps: If you could publicise the data or detailed observations on which you base your comments we might have something to discuss; but it won’t help to solve the problem in the field. Figures here, figures there, the Cypriot authorities need to pull their fingers out and deal with the problem once and for all. That said I could go on to relate similar stories of environmental ignorance and neglect in Italy, Malta, France, Spain etc.
armchair critic is in fact libelous since you have no idea of my part in this awful business and you are unlikely to gain real support when writing like that or with fact is so distorted.
@ Phelps. I had no intention to be offensive - please accept my apology. This is a problem which stirs the emotions of all involved. I’ll try to stay with the facts, although we all have the right to differ in their make-up and interpretation. Let’s save our energy to combat the criminals.
David, readily accepted. We have a commom cause
@ Phelps. You might like to contact me on david.conlin@komitee.de as I have a long term attachment to Cyprus dating back to 1963.
I’ll just chime in on this bit:
I assure you that, yes, there are that many birds. Over 200 species migrate through Cyprus yearly, some in truly prodigious numbers (Raptors alone pass in the thousands per day in September, Bee-eaters in far greater numbers, and the examples for other species are readily available.) You just have to know where to look.
You’re more than welcome to come out and birdwatch with us any time. I live in Nicosia, and go birding every weekend, often both days on the weekend. Email me at cellsnbirds at gmail.com if you’d like.
Hi guys: I’m really pleased that this post has caused some good (and very valuable) feedback. I hope it will continue ‘off stage’ as both Dan and David have offered: it would be good to get some sort of update if that’s agreed on by all parties should you meet up or communicate further?
Phelps: there is one point I’d like to pursue further though. You’ve said a number of times that we’re all on the same side and that we David (and myself) don’t know your “part in this awful business”. I appreciate that the situation on the ground in Cyprus can be tricky, but you can surely appreciate that by not providing email or website links you haven’t given me (I won’t speak for David he can do that himself more than adequately) any reason to believe that you’re not an aggrieved hunter attempting to softsoap the readers of this blog, or are pursuing some other agenda. That’s not an accusation in any way, just a statement of fact. I’ve posted on subjects before on 10,000 Birds where anonymous commenters have turned out not to be as friendly or as reasonable as they first appear. Would you be amenable to giving a clearer idea of who you are or what your “part in this awful business” has been? If not would you mind telling me why? Thanks in advance…
David, I have emailed you.
Charlie > Sorry for the delay I have beeen in the UAE.
It is very easy to write articles condeming others actions when you do not live in that community.I have to be more careful since I choose to live in Cyprus and do my part as anonomous as possible for very obvious reasons.
I have no intention of soft soaping your readers I am sure they can make up their own minds from eloquent posts.
I have emailed David and I’m sure he understands my position.
PS Incidently I do like your Raccoon photos
Hi again Phelps - I agree with what you say, just find it a little hard to understand why you need to be so patronising to me when you say it? Let’s call this conversation officially over, okay.
hello people, i know i posted vary late according to the other posts, but i just wanted to say my opinion on such an important thing for me. I’m a Cypriot, i like birdwatching as much as you do, LEGAL hunting as well, and most important i criticise ILLEGAL hunting (in any form) taking place in my country more than you do.
Firstly, bird trapping and consuming is well established in Cypriot culture as bullfighting is in Spanish (Why didn’t Europe stopped bullfighting when Spain entered Europe,is it less cruel? i understand that bulls are not endangered or protected, but blackcups aren’t endangered either), they became protected relatively recently.
This was A JOB was done by uneducated poor people which were turning on to birdtrapping to sustein theis families, the methods used were limesticks and other kinds of pocket sized traps, doing just SELECTIVE trapping simply because other bird than those mentioned had no signifigant value. those invaluable birds were released..
This is as far as the positive aspects of Cyprus ILLEGAL hunting activities stop,(even if today this kind of traditional hunting takes place). As mentioned in the article, huge numbers of bird are beeing trapped using mist nets (NONE OF THE THOUSAND OF MISTNETS USED IS BEEING MADE IN CYPRUS, ALL OF THEM ARE BEEING IMPORTED FROM ABROAD, AND MOST OF THEM FROM THE BIRD LOVING EUROPE, DUE TO REDUCED TAXES).
This kind of non selective trapping has beeing imported as mentined, and used widely due to the easy way its done, its effective and most important cheap.. this is what i criticise, not the poor farmers which use homemade limestcks to trap a dozen of birds a week (in the same way, shooting is egually effective, should it be banned as well?).
mist nets today are used from proffesinals, people set them in their fields, they attract birds using bird calling machines and decoys and they make a lot of money, up to thousands per year..(note: they are usually the first to know when a police car enters their VILLAGE and gets close to them less than a mile, so its impossible in most cases to catch them..) thats why most of the times poor farmers are the ones caught and the law is fully applied to them.
what Europe, birdwatchers , and other poeple from all over the world who criticise ILLEGAL hunting in cyprus must realise is that there are two categories of bird trappers, the pros( doing anything they can to make profit, uselective trapping etc) and the simple farmers, very few in our days ( which using simple trapping methods, trap small numbers of birds for treir needs only.) this is not an excuse for them, its just a fact that foreigners don’t know and its good to have it in mind.
stoping them should be a major goal for cypriot authorities, which is, and every autumn their work is quite effective, but if Europeans and other people boycotage cyprus, they won’t reduce this habit, but increase it.. the studies in the article show increase in trapping from 07-08 to 08-09, you think that the economic factor (crisis) had nothing to do with this, less money pushes people in alternative ways to get them, and poaching is a popular and easy one, so if Cyprus’s economy factor is damaged, the population of migratory birds will be egually reduced..
so the solution to this problem lyies in the hands of Cypriots themselfs and the Cypriot authorities, no external factor will manage to stop what cypriots are doing since stoneage as you say..
Thanks for your time, and please don’t missunderstand my intentions, i hate those people and this practice more than you do, but by being a Cypriot, i believe i have a better view of what’s going on, so i try to pass it on, to prevent possible mistakes like boycotage (forgive me for my bad english)
Con/nos,
I didn’t see your comment till now, but if I may respond to your points:
1. Bullfighting should be illegal (if you ask me). But bullfighting is irrelevant, as it relates to animal rights, not wildlife conservation. And believe me, if bulls were wildlife and Spanish were killing thousands and thousands of them every year, it might be as bad as Cypriot trapping is. But it’s not. Cypriots aren’t trapping one or two or a dozen songbirds, they’re trapping hundreds of thousands, every year. It’s a horrible and barbaric tradition that amounts to trying to kill as many birds as humanly possible.
2. Yes, it WAS a job for people to sustain their families and get enough fat in their diets to survive. Over a hundred years ago. Now, the trappers drive expensive trucks in the fields and make hundreds of euros per day of trapping. They are neither poor nor starving. So trapping is an unnecessary tradition in an era when Cypriots are doing quite well for themselves.
3. Where mist nets are being made is irrelevant. They’re still being used in Cyprus. And they’re still extremely illegal, indiscriminate, and very effective at trapping tremendous numbers of wild birds.
4. Limesticks, while not quite as effective, are also very effective and indiscriminate, and thus very illegal, for good reason.
But yes, what you say towards the end in conclusion is true: boycotting Cyprus is not the best answer. Cypriots must SEE that they stand to attract more tourism for its wildlife and not just for its beaches. And the solution is indeed in the hands of the Cypriot authorities - they must start to enforce their laws. They must start to penalize the restaurants that continue these crimes. But for some reason, the CYPRIOT AUTHORITIES STILL IGNORE THE CRIME of restaurants serving ambelopoulia. This must change!
hello again…
firstly when i mentioned bullfighting i was refering to the brutality of the sport: slow and painfull death for blackcups, the same thing exactly happens to bulls. numbers are not to be compared ofcourse.
secondly, where mist nets are made i think is very important, if europe wants so badly to stop bird slaughter, which is done using the equipment europe is making (including decoys, voice lures etc) instead of spending thousands of euros on projects , staff and other impressive moves to attract the peoples attention. it could simply stop, or limit ( sell it only to authorized persons) the production of these equipment. spending a lot less money and doing much more effective job, even if it is less impressive.
also i didnt mentioned that limesticks should be legal or something like that, i just said that they are not so effective if used properly!!! but they are stil catastrophic and should ofcourse remain illegal.
and finally, in such a small island, where so vast quantities of those birds are beeing traded, captured and served.. trust me almost everyone knows where, when and how this is done.. now why the cypriot authorities are not as efective are they should, (or even could) everyone can make up their own opinion about that, i dont want to get in this discussion.
thanks again..
Con/nos,
Right, and the slow death for blackcaps and the many other species is not the issue here. The numbers and indiscriminate slaughter are why cypriot trapping is worse than spanish bullfighting.
No, it’s not where the nets are made that’s important, it’s where they’re used. It’s common sense. You don’t blame the gun-maker for a murder, you blame the person who uses the gun.
But thank you for recognizing that everyone knows where, when and how it is done, and that it is all illegal. You may not want to discuss why the police ignore almost all of this, but that is the problem.
Cheers.
hi, of what i see we agree to almost everything!! ofcourse we cant blame the gunmaker for the animals killed by his guns, its his job.. but if he didnt exist, or changed job, less animals would have died, at least from his guns… see my point?
i know that in bullfighting , the bulls used are especially breeded for this purpose, and that is controlled, (small numbers etc) . my point was that the same brutal way of killing which is famous an LEGAL in other countries, is ILLEGAL in my country. theres no way i could even compare anything else like the indiscrimination of trapping, destuctive results, huge numbers etc. am not saying that trapping should be legal because in other ountries the same kind of death is commonly acceptable, but that there must be egual treatment according to the laws of each country from the EU. thanks for answering so fast this time .. with respect
Con/nos
con/nos,
Regarding mist nets, from what I can see you’re suggesting one of two things. Either you’re suggesting that we outlaw nets, or we block people from bringing mist nets into Cyprus. The second one is impossible, and the first one ignores that there are legitimate uses for mist nets besides the illegal uses that we’re talking about (e.g. for bird ringing). Banning mist nets is unrealistic for these reasons, so no, I don’t see what your point is.
And you seem to misunderstand why netting and liming are illegal. It’s not because they’re cruel (although yes, they are cruel). It’s because of the numbers of birds caught/killed and the many birds that are caught. For instance, I’ve seen a number of birds caught by limesticks while birdwatching, and less than one in five birds caught were ambelopoulia (blackcaps), that I saw anyway. Yet they were all killed except the few I was able to release. Over 150 different species are caught by limesticks, and mist nets are worse.
This isn’t an animal rights issue, as you seem to mistakenly think. It’s an ecological issue. Over 50 threatened species have been seen caught by limesticks and mist nets. THAT’s why it’s illegal.
Cheers.
ok. i competely agree with you.. in none of the above posts i’ve diasegreed with what you say or what the article says, am just giving you a different prespective from my point of view. thats all..
i know that the particular equpment is illegal because of the huge numbers of protected and endangered wildlife it traps. but cruelty of that and animal rights are referred to the article above, and am referring to them.. dont missunderstand me..
and trust me ,way more than 150 species are caught and killed on limesticks. i’ve seen birds on limesticks that according to birdguides dont even cross Cyprus.
i also know the ecological effect of this act. and as you saw above am fully against it. regarding the mistnets all i can think of is that the restricted use and distribution of them is not as restricted as it should be. all i do is suggestions ,nothing more..
cheers
Okay - just one point though… If animal rights aspects of ambelopoulia were mentioned in the above article, it was only in passing, and barely at that.
correct.. they were mentioned though . anyway what i tryed to pass on mainly was the last paragraph of my first post. anything else is just not as important, details.
also Dan thanks for commenting on my posts, its good to have a second opinion sometimes, it helps people get a better view of the whole situation.
and finally for the birdwatchers, the birds i mentioned i saw on limesticks that according to birdguids dont even cross Cyprus are pyrrhula pyrrhula (small ones), serinus pusillus and emberiza cia, and some others which are extremely rare for our island like fringilla montifringilla and tudus torquatus
Wow - yeah, Bullfinch, Red-fronted Serin, Rock Bunting, Brambling and Ring Ouzel (their English names) are extremely rare for Cyprus. It’s just so horrible that they’re seen here more often dead (by trappers) than alive.
I’d would have hoped that this conversation would have already progressed by closing itself down and merging itself into an updated version of the post with revised data, perhaps with a clearer objective and action steps rather than just denouncing what used to be a tolerated practice with certain obvious cultural attachments. Trapping by traditional means is something different local communities across Europe are demanding not to be banned, just as modern fishing techniques have completely created imbalances and placed at risk many fish species or whales for that matter.
It is all virtuous to defend animal rights but this defense will never be effective without respect for context, cultural beliefs and local tolerance which are rights of their own.
Charlie I don’t know where you come from, but I find particularly insulting your presumption that certain ‘citizens inclined to act like throwbacks to the Stone Age’ only seem to reside in Southern regions of Europe, which in my mind, bird trapping lies at lower part of the scale of what certain citizens are capable of these days and which we can read about on a daily basis. (I believe your introduction to this post is uncalled for and not required to drive your point in this well structured post)
I agree with Dan that the local tourism authority has not valued enough having local fauna alive, as a more lucrative source of income for the industry rather than as a delicacy. But it is with high hopes that emerging models of biosphere reserves in the Mediterranean may be quickly be adopted so as to invert negative tendencies and so hope to read/see more about the beauties of the bird world and less about its horrors.
Patrick: I live in Europe. That information is widely available on the blog. I did you the courtesy of looking beyond just one page on your website (a courtesy you didn’t extend to me sadly), and I do think that had you explained that you are concerned with promoting Cyprus as a holiday destination your comments could have been better put in context.
Had you looked further than just this one post you would have seen that I don’t think that ‘some of its citizens to act like throwbacks to the Stone Age’ ONLY exist in southern Europe, I think they live virtually everywhere: however in this article I referenced Malta and Cyprus - both of which lie in southern Europe and both of which seem to be crawling with illegal hunters who are cruel, ignorant, and fortunately do not represent the vast majority of Europeans (hence the use of the word ’some’).
Interestingly, your website - which is called ‘Naturally Cyprus’ - has virtually no mention (I didn’t go through every page, more pages than you did when you visited 10,000 Birds to complain, but not every one) of anything ‘natural’ whatsoever. Your remark that ‘It is all virtuous to defend animal rights but this defense will never be effective without respect for context, cultural beliefs and local tolerance which are rights of their own’ is an especially weak argument and with it I think you nail your colours firmly to the mask.
Lastly, as you are promoting Cyprus through your website, I find it especially breathtaking that you can write “I agree with Dan that the local tourism authority has not valued enough having local fauna alive” while completely skipping over the awkward data and facts that many locals in Cyprus are destroying Europe’s avifauna without a second thought. I tried using the search box on your site and there is nothing at all returned for ‘wildlife’, ‘avifauna’, ‘migrants’, ‘reptiles’, or ‘butterflies’, and just the same three articles on flamingos when you enter ‘birds’. Why are you not using ‘Naturally Cyprus’ to demonstrate how much you ‘value’ the local fauna, or does your silence on the subject actually speak volumes?
Let’s face it, Patrick, you are obviously an educated man but you came on here to promote the island as a holiday destination and you just don’t like people like me and Dan pointing out what is actually going on.
Dear Charlie - Let me me frank with you, I don’t need to come to your blog for publicity. You can edit yourself any references to the alfa site - which is an ongoing live web design project. As yourself carefully mention, a website is best to provide while signing off an article as it provides certain information valuable to the moderator. That was the only reason why the address was there. (for everything else, I’ll accept the blame)
Furthermore, my commenting on your post is irrelevant to our web content at this time. My main reason on commenting is because as I was reading through all the observations and conversations, I grew irritated by the fact that the conversation had not progressed further since last march of last year. In the same line that I was equally struck by the video about what is happening in Malta - I join you in this, to convince people to get over to petition as to help out these people that are actually moving governmental and police agencies to break down on inconsiderate individuals.
Lastly, and the real point of my comment and that I would have liked you to touch upon, is the eventual effectiveness and the impact of future Biosphere reserves would have in such hot zones like Malta and Cyprus, especially with the issue of social consciousness and setting the framework for sustainable development. That is all, thank you.
Malta petition: http://www.birdlifemalta.org/petition/sign/
[...] Photos from 10,000 Birds. [...]