Birds illegally killed in Cyprus for local restaurant delicacy
October 2011: A million birds have been illegally trapped and killed already this autumn in Cyprus, one of the UK 's favourite holiday destinations.
BirdLife Cyprus, the RSPB's BirdLife partner on the island, estimates that more than a million birds have been slaughtered since the beginning of September, as the island's illegal bird-trapping season got under way.
The death toll has been estimated following BirdLife's field-monitoring of trapping activity as part of its ongoing systematic surveillance programme. The birds, including whitethroats and blackcaps, are killed to supply restaurants with the local delicacy ambelopoulia.
Autumn trappers target birds which are migrating between Europe and Africa.
One bird trapped every four secondsMartin Hellicar, campaigns manager of BirdLife Cyprus, said: ‘So far this autumn more than a million birds have been killed illegally using mist nets and limesticks in Cyprus and the toll continues to rise each day. We know that the autumn season is the main trapping period and this number is certain to become much bigger by the end of the month unless decisive action is taken now to back up enforcement efforts.'
Tim Stowe, the RSPB's international director commented: ‘An average of one bird every four seconds is being trapped and killed in Cyprus right now. Shocking as that statistic may be, the real surprise is that many of these birds have been killed within a short distance of the island's holiday hotspots, such as Ayia Napa, and a substantial number have been killed inside the UK administered Sovereign Base Areas, especially Dhekelia.
This island will become the shame of Europe‘This slaughter is completely illegal under European, Cyprus and Sovereign Base Area law. It beggars belief how Cyprus - a member of the European Union - and the Sovereign Base Area authorities can allow this massacre to continue year after year. It's time that Cyprus and the UK administrations got a grip of this problem before the island becomes the shame of Europe.'
BirdLife Cyprus has launched an appeal to gather signatures in a petition that will be sent to Cyprus ministers urging them to take action. The petition has already exceeded 11,000 names. The charity is also calling for decisive action against the restaurants serving the trapped birds, for targeted enforcement against big, organised trapping operations, and for tougher sentences for convicted trappers.
‘Such levels of trapping constitute an ecological disaster. Non-selective trapping is taking place on a large scale to feed the demand for banned ambelopoulia delicacies. We want to communicate the scale of this slaughter to the generally indifferent public in order to make them more aware of the issue and its ecological impact,' Martin Hellicar added.
Showing posts with label bird slaughter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bird slaughter. Show all posts
Friday, October 21, 2011
Monday, December 27, 2010
Cypriot bird trappers flock to British military base
As many songbirds, including robins, in Britain and northern Europe struggle with the icy blast of Arctic weather, many of their counterparts which have migrated to Cyprus to escape the harsh conditions are being killed by the island’s trappers in greater numbers than any year in the previous decade.
Shockingly, a report by BirdLife Cyprus reveals a large proportion of these birds are trapped at Dhekelia – a UK Sovereign Base Area in the south-east of the island.
Figures released by BirdLife Cyprus, the RSPB’s BirdLife International partner on the island, reveal that an estimated 1.4million songbirds have been trapped illegally this autumn to provide the main ingredient for a local delicacy: ambelopoulia. BirdLife Cyprus has described this level of slaughter as an ‘ecological disaster’
BirdLife Cyprus’s Martin Hellicar says the island has now lost significant ground in the battle against bird trapping. He added: “The picture emerging from this autumn is one of a bird-trapping disaster unseen since we began monitoring almost 10 years ago.”
Indiscriminate
He added: “Bird trapping is an illegal indiscriminate practice that threatens many birds of conservation concern, especially migratory ones.”
Tim Stowe is the RSPB’s International Director. Commenting on the rapidly worsening situation, he said: “The millions of Britons feeding songbirds in their gardens to help them survive this harsh spell will rightly be horrified at the level of slaughter that is happening in an area of Cyprus under direct British control.
“The fact that more than five times the level of netting activity were recorded on the UK’s Sovereign Base Area compared with the Cypriot Republic is a major embarrassment for the Ministry of Defence and the UK Government.
Annual carnage
“We know that some efforts have been made to clear trapping equipment from the Base Area, but this serious organised criminal activity and annual carnage will only be ended by increasing the level of arrests and convictions.”
Although trapping levels are thought to be lower than those experienced in the 1990s, the situation must be addressed urgently. Trappers are reportedly making hundreds of thousands of Euros by selling songbirds to restaurants to be served up as expensive delicacies.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/267412-cypriot-bird-trappers-flock-to-british-military-base
Shockingly, a report by BirdLife Cyprus reveals a large proportion of these birds are trapped at Dhekelia – a UK Sovereign Base Area in the south-east of the island.
Figures released by BirdLife Cyprus, the RSPB’s BirdLife International partner on the island, reveal that an estimated 1.4million songbirds have been trapped illegally this autumn to provide the main ingredient for a local delicacy: ambelopoulia. BirdLife Cyprus has described this level of slaughter as an ‘ecological disaster’
BirdLife Cyprus’s Martin Hellicar says the island has now lost significant ground in the battle against bird trapping. He added: “The picture emerging from this autumn is one of a bird-trapping disaster unseen since we began monitoring almost 10 years ago.”
Indiscriminate
He added: “Bird trapping is an illegal indiscriminate practice that threatens many birds of conservation concern, especially migratory ones.”
Tim Stowe is the RSPB’s International Director. Commenting on the rapidly worsening situation, he said: “The millions of Britons feeding songbirds in their gardens to help them survive this harsh spell will rightly be horrified at the level of slaughter that is happening in an area of Cyprus under direct British control.
“The fact that more than five times the level of netting activity were recorded on the UK’s Sovereign Base Area compared with the Cypriot Republic is a major embarrassment for the Ministry of Defence and the UK Government.
Annual carnage
“We know that some efforts have been made to clear trapping equipment from the Base Area, but this serious organised criminal activity and annual carnage will only be ended by increasing the level of arrests and convictions.”
Although trapping levels are thought to be lower than those experienced in the 1990s, the situation must be addressed urgently. Trappers are reportedly making hundreds of thousands of Euros by selling songbirds to restaurants to be served up as expensive delicacies.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/267412-cypriot-bird-trappers-flock-to-british-military-base
Cypriot bird trappers flock to British military base
As many songbirds, including robins, in Britain and northern Europe struggle with the icy blast of Arctic weather, many of their counterparts which have migrated to Cyprus to escape the harsh conditions are being killed by the island’s trappers in greater numbers than any year in the previous decade.
Shockingly, a report by BirdLife Cyprus reveals a large proportion of these birds are trapped at Dhekelia – a UK Sovereign Base Area in the south-east of the island.
Figures released by BirdLife Cyprus, the RSPB’s BirdLife International partner on the island, reveal that an estimated 1.4million songbirds have been trapped illegally this autumn to provide the main ingredient for a local delicacy: ambelopoulia. BirdLife Cyprus has described this level of slaughter as an ‘ecological disaster’
BirdLife Cyprus’s Martin Hellicar says the island has now lost significant ground in the battle against bird trapping. He added: “The picture emerging from this autumn is one of a bird-trapping disaster unseen since we began monitoring almost 10 years ago.”
Indiscriminate
He added: “Bird trapping is an illegal indiscriminate practice that threatens many birds of conservation concern, especially migratory ones.”
Tim Stowe is the RSPB’s International Director. Commenting on the rapidly worsening situation, he said: “The millions of Britons feeding songbirds in their gardens to help them survive this harsh spell will rightly be horrified at the level of slaughter that is happening in an area of Cyprus under direct British control.
“The fact that more than five times the level of netting activity were recorded on the UK’s Sovereign Base Area compared with the Cypriot Republic is a major embarrassment for the Ministry of Defence and the UK Government.
Annual carnage
“We know that some efforts have been made to clear trapping equipment from the Base Area, but this serious organised criminal activity and annual carnage will only be ended by increasing the level of arrests and convictions.”
Although trapping levels are thought to be lower than those experienced in the 1990s, the situation must be addressed urgently. Trappers are reportedly making hundreds of thousands of Euros by selling songbirds to restaurants to be served up as expensive delicacies.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/267412-cypriot-bird-trappers-flock-to-british-military-base
Shockingly, a report by BirdLife Cyprus reveals a large proportion of these birds are trapped at Dhekelia – a UK Sovereign Base Area in the south-east of the island.
Figures released by BirdLife Cyprus, the RSPB’s BirdLife International partner on the island, reveal that an estimated 1.4million songbirds have been trapped illegally this autumn to provide the main ingredient for a local delicacy: ambelopoulia. BirdLife Cyprus has described this level of slaughter as an ‘ecological disaster’
BirdLife Cyprus’s Martin Hellicar says the island has now lost significant ground in the battle against bird trapping. He added: “The picture emerging from this autumn is one of a bird-trapping disaster unseen since we began monitoring almost 10 years ago.”
Indiscriminate
He added: “Bird trapping is an illegal indiscriminate practice that threatens many birds of conservation concern, especially migratory ones.”
Tim Stowe is the RSPB’s International Director. Commenting on the rapidly worsening situation, he said: “The millions of Britons feeding songbirds in their gardens to help them survive this harsh spell will rightly be horrified at the level of slaughter that is happening in an area of Cyprus under direct British control.
“The fact that more than five times the level of netting activity were recorded on the UK’s Sovereign Base Area compared with the Cypriot Republic is a major embarrassment for the Ministry of Defence and the UK Government.
Annual carnage
“We know that some efforts have been made to clear trapping equipment from the Base Area, but this serious organised criminal activity and annual carnage will only be ended by increasing the level of arrests and convictions.”
Although trapping levels are thought to be lower than those experienced in the 1990s, the situation must be addressed urgently. Trappers are reportedly making hundreds of thousands of Euros by selling songbirds to restaurants to be served up as expensive delicacies.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/267412-cypriot-bird-trappers-flock-to-british-military-base
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