News:
Project of the Month September 2024

For the 'big players' in the Cyprus bird slaughter business, threats, violence and the destruction of emergency vehicles are "normal" practices...

Thirteen years of hard bird protection work on Cyprus, with 28 bird protection camps in cooperation with the Committee against Bird Slaughter (CABS), Bonn, to date, have brought spring migratory bird trapping there to a virtual standstill. Our next ambitious goal is to achieve the same for the autumn bird migration season.

Our informants on Cyprus report that the 'big players' in the bird slaughter business have been preparing for the imminent autumn bird migration season since mid-August. Despite the extreme late summer heat wave, olive trees and shrubs have been trimmed for the planned erection of illegal mist net trapping sites, often hundreds of metres long. Cement foundations for the net posts and property fences have been strengthened and repaired.

Autumn is the main bird slaughter season on Cyprus. Bird-trapping with limesticks is far too time-consuming and not productive enough for the 'big players'. Up to 1,200 migratory birds per night and mist net site are believed to be illegally caught! They generate a net black market turnover of up to 3,600 euros multiplied by 30 intensive bird-trapping days. This adds up to a tax-free turnover of 100,000 euros ... for a single bird poaching team in just one autumn bird migration season.

These figures reveal why large-scale bird poachers do not shy away from violence against our bird conservationists in their bloody business of bird slaughter. Damaged Foundation vehicles, stolen equipment and loud insults and threats of violence are among the most regular harmless experiences.

During an additional spring bird protection camp on the Greek island of Zakynthos, our bird conservationists and emergency vehicles were confronted with brutal, ruthless and destructive violence. The incredible offences against the EU Birds Directive, Greek bird protection laws and the ban on spring bird hunting, which has been in force in Greece since 1987, exceeded their and our worst expectations.
On Zakynthos, it is estimated that up to 700 illegal bird hunters shoot thousands of strictly protected Turtle Doves, Golden Orioles, colourful European Bee-eaters and birds of prey in broad daylight, even in front of tourists. Athens and the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries in Brussels are well aware of these criminal activities ... but hardly anyone In Athens or Brussels seems to care about them!

This autumn, our joint migratory bird rescue mission in Cyprus, involving several teams, each of 2-3 bird conservationists, will be deployed for up to 8 weeks along the southern coast of Cyprus in the two British Sovereign Base areas and along the UN buffer zone. Of course, we hope for the active support of the Cyprus anti-poaching police unit APS (Anti-Poaching Squad), which has been re-established following its abolition, and the state game wardens. How much actual support and help we receive will become apparent during the first few days of operation.

We rely a great deal on your continued and committed support in the form of donations to continue our migratory bird rescue work in Cyprus, even in times of rising prices. We need some 22,200 euros to cover the costs of this year's autumn bird protection camp on Cyprus. Also, on Cyprus, we urgently need to replace a Foundation emergency vehicle badly damaged by bird poachers, two bodycams damaged on operations, and a camera drone lost during a night flight. These replacements will cost us a further 7,400 euros approximately!

Please help us now with your project donation of perhaps 20, 30, or 50 euros or any other amount. Every euro counts – our migratory birds need you!

At the same time, your donation for a successful autumn migratory bird rescue mission in Cyprus is a sign of active solidarity with the courageous work of our volunteer bird