A new series of videos posted by bird activists operating in Cyprus was released recently. It coincides with a large protest that was held in support of hunters in Paralimni on Wednesday evening. Those involved in the protest say that new laws and restrictions imposed on hunters as well as police raids are stopping a practice that has been handed down through the generations.
As well as calls for the legalisation of hunting with limesticks as part of their cultural heritage, there were also demands to put a stop to the activities of CABS activists which they say are becoming undesirable in Cyprus.
In the first video Megan McCubbin joins the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) on a night patrol in the Republic of Cyprus to find and rescue birds caught in lime sticks. The video clearly shows the activists finding various illegal hunting equipment, the trapped birds and their efforts to clean and release those that could be saved. Watch the full video below:
CABS are a group of activists whose members visit Cyprus and other countries where bird trappers, hunters and animal traders commit offences against European nature protection legislation.
The Famagusta area is one of two – along with Ayios Theodoros in Larnaca – areas on the island’s southern coast notorious for bird-trapping activity. Despite a European ban on the activity, trappers – especially in these two areas – continue to use mist-nets and limesticks to catch birds and then sell them as local delicacies known as ambelopoulia. In one area, near the Pyla firing range, trappers even planted acacia trees for the specific purpose of attracting the small birds.
Related: Paralimni Mayor stands up for tradition of bird trapping