Newsroom
The Sovereign Base Area Police in Dhekelia on Friday confirmed the destruction of a large number of mistnets and bird imitating devices all seized from bird trappers over the past year.
In addition, more than 60 kilometres of illegal irrigation pipes have also been removed which were used directly to support the illegal trapping of songbirds.
A statement said: "This latest move by the Bases police deals another telling blow to the bird trapping community and it has highlighted again the commitment of the police to stamp out this illegal activity within the Sovereign Base Areas."
Over the past year, anti-bird trapping operations have led to a 70% reduction in the illegal killing of migratory birds within the SBAs and a huge decrease in the number of bird trappers operating in the area.
Dhekelia Divisional Commander, Chief Superintendent Jon Ward said there had been a great deal of success achieved by the police and its partners over the past year but he warned trappers that this was only the beginning.
:The Bases authorities are absolutely committed to combating illegal bird trapping"
He explained: “The Bases authorities are absolutely committed to combating illegal bird trapping within the SBAs and it remains a force priority.
“We also remain committed to working alongside our partners from Non-Governmental Organisations like the RSPB in the UK, Committee Against Bird Slaughter, BirdLife Cyprus and the Game Fund, in order to continue with the current success we are having in tackling this problem.”
And in pointing to the future, he said: “We will continue to embrace new technology to win the battle against bird trapping. Over the next year, we will enhance our drone capability and continue with the extensive legal use of hidden cameras and NVG technology. We will use every tool available to us to help us achieve our objectives."
SBA Police Chief Constable Chris Eyre, also feels the high-profile destruction of seized trapping equipment will send out a strong message to the bird trapping community.
He said: “Working alongside our military colleagues we have been able to remove a vast sum of illegal irrigation pipes which are used to water acacia trees that hide the mistnets and we have been able to destroy plenty of bird imitating devices that lure these defenceless songbirds into the traps.
“With the support from the UK Government we have been able to dedicate more resources to this problem and we are now seeing the rewards of that commitment and that message is reaching the bird trapping community.”
The SBA Police employs a dedicated 12-man Crime Action Team of police experts working around-the-clock to combat bird trapping activity.
