Complaints of harassment by activists "during legal hunting activity" were made on Monday by the United Cypriot Hunters Movement in collaboration with the Deryneia Hunting Association.
According to the Movement's complaint, "during a legal hunting activity, a member of a group of activists monitors and harasses a hunter once again in the free area of Famagusta."
"As a Movement, the statement said, we strongly condemn these unacceptable and provocative attitudes of the so-called activists."
In its announcement, the Movement states that “activists from many European countries have been expelled and are not allowed to enter, in Cyprus they roam fearlessly, harass unabashedly and provoke as long as there is no law to protect the legal hunter, and at the same time there is no law restricting activists. ”
In fact, as they complain, "all this should be done with the tolerance of our state and Parliament, which in order to satisfy a handful of votes, have removed the legislation for the activists from the Law on Wild Birds and Prey."
At the same time, in their announcement, they blame the Parliament and the government "that despite our efforts to inform the problem and at the same time to offer solutions, however, there is still no legislation as in all European countries", as it is mentioned.
In its announcement, the Movement calls for "the end of populism and the immediate enactment of legislation that, as recently and in the past, we have communicated the request to all MPs but no one has made any move to implement it. We call on all 56 deputies of the Parliament to find even one to register the issue directly in the parliament ex officio, since the situation is dangerous for years and does not need more ignorance from the competent bodies. "
They also cite the proposal to criminalize the obstruction of Hunters, which as they report, was sent to the 56 deputies on 4/11/2021 and was not taken into account:
Article 29 of the Basic Law should be amended by adding the following words:
Obstruction of Hunting Sport
29. (1) A person who intentionally harasses, obstructs, or obstructs any hunting license holder during the lawful pursuit of the sport of hunting, or uses natural or artificial visual, acoustic, olfactory, gustatory or natural stimulus, to influence prey for the purpose of evading legal prey, or to use an unmanned vehicle or aircraft, to harass a hunting licensee while lawfully practicing the sport of hunting or in order to avoid legal hunting, or is located within a permitted hunting area in order to harass or obstruct any hunting license holder or enter a hunting license holder's shooting line and endanger himself in any way, is guilty of an offense.
(2) The members of the Game and Fauna Service and the Police are excluded from the provisions of the above paragraph.
(3) A person who violates the provisions of paragraph (1) is guilty of an offense and is subject, in case of conviction, to imprisonment not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding € 3.500,00 Euros or both. penalties. ”