Newsroom
Cyprus’ hunting season opened with encouraging results for hunters and hundreds of checks by wardens, who reported 12 cases involving alleged violations ranging from hunting without a license to exceeding the partridge bag limit.
Game and Fauna Service spokesperson Petros Anagiotos said the first outing went well, offering a promising start to the rest of the season.
Speaking on SPORT FM 95.0’s “News Distribution” program, he said no serious injuries or major poaching cases were recorded during the opening outing.
For the thousands heading into the countryside, that made for a relatively trouble-free start—though inspections showed that some basic rules were still being overlooked.
Interest picks up after years of decline
Around 34,500 hunting licenses have been issued so far. The service expects that figure to exceed 35,000 by the end of the season.
Anagiotos said license renewals had steadily declined in recent years, but this year’s interest appeared stronger than last year’s, in line with the service’s expectations.
Gun transport tops the list of violations
Wardens carried out hundreds of inspections, reporting:
- Five cases involving hunting firearms transported in vehicles without being kept in a case.
- Two cases of hunting without a license.
- Two cases involving failure to declare game taken.
- One case involving the partridge bag limit.
- One case involving dogs without the required identification.
- One case involving dogs in an area closed to hunting.
The most common reported violation concerned how firearms were carried in vehicles—a reminder that the rules apply to the journey as well as the hunt.
While the opening results were encouraging, they are an early indication rather than a guarantee of how the rest of the season will unfold.
