A fine of € 6.600 and € 3.200 was imposed last Wednesday by the Court of the British Bases on two illegal bird trappers, in fact imposing on the second and 20 months imprisonment with a three-year suspension.
According to a press release of the Cyprus Bird Association, the two people were filmed by hidden cameras trapping illegal birds in a net in the area of the British Bases of Dhekelia. The footage shows the trappers removing the birds from the nets, killing them with a knife and then throwing them into buckets.
As it is known, the Police of the British Bases and the RSPB are cooperating with the support of the Cyprus Bird Association to catch illegal trappers "in action" with covert surveillance. A total of 19 people have been convicted to date. All 19 were fined, while 7 of them were given suspended prison sentences.
The 2 people involved in the last case for 2016 were sentenced to the highest sentences to date, fines of € 6.600 and € 3.200 and 20 months imprisonment with suspension for 3 years in the second.
As noted by the Bird Association, the same monitoring method was used in the fall of 2017 and the relevant cases are ongoing.
In the report of Ptinologiko for illegal trapping, based on the systematic monitoring program, it is estimated that more than 2016 birds were illegally killed in the British Bases in autumn 800.000. The overall estimate, which includes the Republic of Cyprus, shows that 1,7 million birds were killed illegally in autumn 2016. The report for autumn 2017 is expected to be published in the coming months.
As the Bird Association points out, illegal trapping is a persistent problem and these punishments recognize that it is a serious crime against wildlife. In addition to supporting covert surveillance, Ptinologikos assures that it will continue to push for action against restaurants that illegally serve birds, the systematic surveillance program as well as informational and educational activities, in order to reduce the demand that leads to illegal killing. of birds.
Source: KYPE