Bird trapping ‘almost eradicated’

Sovereign Base Area Police officials have this week confirmed the illegal trapping of Ambelopoulia – Black Caps – has decreased a further 55 per cent this past season and has all but been eradicated in many areas.

The season for trapping these birds runs between September 1 and the end of October and according to statistics released this week, the police’s dedicated Community Action Team (CAT) working alongside various other organisations, have once again built on the success of previous years.

The illegal trapping of Black Caps is an historical problem in Cyprus with huge profits to be made from their trade but in recent years the SBA Police have been relentless in their efforts to combat the problem and statistics have supported their efforts.

Since 2016, poaching with mistnets has been reduced by approximately 90 per cent and in the past year alone, a decrease of 55 per cent has been reported.

That success, according to Dhekelia Divisional Commander, Superintendent Andreas Pitsillides, can be attributed to several factors.
He explained: “We have now come to the end of the trapping season for Black Caps and it is clear that we have continued with the success of previous years.

“If we look at the key trapping areas within the SBAs – Cape Pyla, Avgorou, Ormidhia, Achna and Vrysoulles – we see that trapping has been all but eradicated in many of those areas and only limited activity now exists in one, which is Vrysoulles.

“We as a police force have dedicated more resources to combat this problem and our CAT team have been conducting regular around-the-clock patrols in trapping areas to catch the perpetrators of this crime.

“We have also been able to call on the use of drone footage and from our surveillance cameras to help us in our efforts and they have led to more arrests and successful prosecutions.”

During this past season, those efforts have seen more than 10 cases being opened against illegal trappers and close to €10,000 issued in Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) to those caught red-handed.

The Superintendent was quick to point out though that these positive results would not have been possible without the help and expertise of various other organisations.

He continued: “Whilst our police officers have been working very hard to catch bird trappers, it would not have been possible without the help of the RSPB, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, Bird Life Cyprus, the Game Fund, the military and of course the local communities which have also been supportive of our efforts.

“This is very much a collective success and over the years we have all found a highly-successful way of working together to achieve this common aim.”

But despite the widespread success of the bird trapping operations, Superintendent Pitsillides emphasised the work had not yet finished.
“We will continue with our zero-tolerance approach to bird trapping because we have not wiped out the crime completely. Our partners are more determined than ever to keep the pressure on trappers and we will be doing everything in our power to support them.”

The work of the CAT team has also been acknowledged further afield after the SBA Police learned they were to receive a prestigious Sanctuary Magazine award next month for their bird trapping success.

“This is a great honour,” the Divisional Commander said. “The team have worked so hard and quite often put themselves in danger to combat this problem, so it will be a great achievement for them to be given this award next month.

“We are proud of the work they have done and to have it acknowledged by Sanctuary Magazine is very special.”

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