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Project of the Month

The Autumn Bird Conservation Camp on Cyprus is about to start!

We have worked in Cyprus for 15 years alongside our friends from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) at bird protection camps, and we will not let our migratory birds down there this autumn either.

Our bird conservationists have experienced many things they are unlikely to forget in a hurry: being beaten with iron bars, life-threatening car chases by bird poachers, an explosive device placed under an emergency vehicle, and, most recently, a brutal attack on a team of bird conservationists during a spring bird conservation camp on the Greek island of Zakynthos.

Our response to such violence is not to back down, but to press on resolutely.

As the autumn bird migration from Northern and Central Europe gets underway, preparations for the 18th Autumn Bird Protection Camp in Cyprus are already complete. Together with our friends from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), three field teams have been assembled and are awaiting their autumn deployment.

In early September, an advance team will begin by monitoring known bird-trapping and bird-hunting sites along the south coast of Cyprus. Particular attention will be paid to the extensive fenced-off private estates owned by professional bird poachers.

In autumn 2025, our bird conservationists, working alongside the Cypriot Police, succeeded in catching two of Cyprus’s biggest professional bird poachers red-handed. They caught the first with 15 mist nets set up to catch birds; the second with 11 mist nets, 270 limesticks, and electronic bird-call decoys. As a result, Cyprus imposed five-figure fines on bird poachers for the first time.

However, the battle is far from being won. In autumn in particular, many bird poachers try to make up for the lost profits from the spring bird-trapping season – which has all but ground to a halt – by stepping up their autumn bird-trapping activities. That is why our operational teams will not only monitor the well-known ‘big players’ in the bird-killing trade but also check numerous smaller bird-trapping sites.

Up to 20 bird conservationists will be deployed for ten weeks on the south coast of Cyprus, in the British Sovereign Base areas and along selected sections of the UN buffer zone. Their bird rescue operations often begin before sunset and do not end until after sunrise. They then hand over the admissible evidence collected during the night to the relevant police stations and file criminal complaints.

This work requires nerve, moral courage and great stamina. Yet it is making a difference. More and more bird poachers are acting more cautiously than before – a sure sign that our long-standing campaign to save migratory birds is also proving increasingly successful this autumn.

We are currently still short of around 23,500 euros to cover the costs of flights, emergency vehicles, accommodation, operational equipment and basic catering for our emergency response teams.

Please support our work with the autumn bird conservation camp on Cyprus.

With a donation of 15, 25 or 50 euros – or any other amount – you can help us to continue our fight against the autumn slaughter of migratory birds on Cyprus and save as many migratory birds as possible from a agonising death.

We want to offer our heartfelt thanks for your support!

Results of the Autumn Bird Conservation Camp, Cyprus 2025

• 92 active illegal bird-trapping sites identified and monitored
• 1,547 illegal limesticks dismantled and destroyed
• 137 illegal mist nets dismantled
• 89 prohibited electronic birdcall decoys removed
• 84 mist net poles removed or destroyed
• 55 bird poachers and illegal bird hunters reported to the authorities
• 1,286 migratory birds freed alive from traps
• 1,399 dead birds recovered from illegal traps