News:
Project of the Month August

Despite our bloody experience on the bird protection camp on the island of Zakynthos (Greece), we will not abandon our migratory birds in Cyprus this autumn either...

While illegal bird poachers and hunters on Cyprus stayed at home for the fourth spring in a row, on the Greek island of Zakynthos, there were massive violations of the relevant EU Birds Directive, the Greek Bird Protection Act and the ban on spring bird hunting that has been in force there since 1987 during spring bird migration.

The bloody aggression of Greek bird hunters against the bird conservation team working on Zakynthos, made up of our friends from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter and our Foundation, surpassed even the violence experienced in recent years from Cypriot bird poachers and hunters. During a bird hunting observation on Zakynthos, 15 men, some of them masked, suddenly appeared and attacked the team without warning. As a result, five bird conservationists had to seek medical treatment at a clinic on Zakynthos for facial injuries, a deep cut on the knee and severe bruising.

Thankfully, all bird conservationists are physically and mentally fit again and eager to start their autumn bird conservation camp in Cyprus. The criminal charges brought by our bird conservationists against illegal bird poachers and hunters, backed up by excellent photographic and video evidence of bird poaching activities, are having an increasingly strong impact, at least in spring. At the same time, our bird protection camp activists on Cyprus are taking a personal risk that should not be underestimated, as they have to appear in court as witnesses against bird poachers and hunters... and unfortunately, you meet up with these people at least twice in your life, even on Cyprus!

Now in autumn, the ‘big players’ in the illegal bird slaughter industry are becoming active again. Catching these professionals red-handed is hard work and demands the utmost from our bird conservationists, not only during their night-time surveillance work, but also when filing reports for violations of bird protection and hunting laws. We encounter little understanding and deaf ears from some police officers and state game wardens. Even during bird protection operations at the scene of the crime, some law enforcement officers have refused to see what was obvious: limesticks in fruit trees and extensive illegal mist nets with songbirds fluttering helplessly inside them.

Since many Song Thrushes and Common Starlings spent the mild winter of 24/25 in Greece and Turkey to conserve energy and strength instead of flying the long route to Cyprus, the Cypriot market for the songbird delicacy ‘Ambelopoulia’ is depleted, and demand from ‘gourmets’ in other countries has not (yet) subsided. They are all waiting for their dodgy songbird supplies – despite the internationally applicable Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which imposes heavy fines for violations.

We are therefore preparing for tough migratory bird rescue operations this autumn and will deploy teams of 2-3 bird conservationists for up to 9 weeks along the south coast of Cyprus, in the two British Sovereign Base areas, as well as along the UN buffer zone.

We therefore kindly ask for your generous donations so that we can continue our migratory bird rescue work in Cyprus this autumn without restriction, despite the sharp rise in prices for flights, basic accommodation, insurance and equipment repairs.

Please help us now with your project donation of perhaps €20, €30 or €50, or any other amount, so that we can cover this year's Cyprus Autumn Bird Protection Camp costs of approximately €23,800.