A Greek-Cypriot man was fined €2,000 for bird trapping

A Greek-Cypriot man was fined €2,000 last week after pleading guilty to bird trapping offences dating back to January in the Achna Forest area.

According to SBA press release, the man was arrested in possession of eight ‘freshly killed thrushes’, two mist-nets and an ‘active’ bird imitating device during a joint operation between the Sovereign Base Area Police and members of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS).

During the early-hours operation, members of the CABS team reported hearing an imitating device coming from a semi-fenced orchard and despite the man’s attempts to flee the scene as officers approached, he was later arrested and admitted the offences.

Superintendent Panicos Panayi, who oversees the dedicated Community Action Team (CAT) tasked with anti-bird trapping operations, said heavy fines for would-be trappers are set to continue.

He explained: “There has been a lot of talk in regards to fines for bird trapping offences potentially being reduced but we remain committed to ensuring that those caught carrying out this illegal activity are brought to justice and face heavy penalties.

“This latest successful prosecution shows our commitment to ensuring that fines remain high and act a deterrent to those trapping.

“Our close working relationships with CABS and other organisations such as Bird Life Cyprus, show our commitment to this issue and there will be no let-up in these joint operations.”

Officials revealed last month that over the next year the police are confident of securing extra funding to add new technology to combat bird trapping, including better surveillance equipment, with updated drones and cameras.

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Since the introduction of the police’s Bird Trapping Action Plan in 2016, the illegal activity has been reduced by close to 100 per cent within the SBAs.