Newsroom / CNA
Three men were arrested in the Dhekelia area on Monday morning after a Sovereign Base Area Police anti-bird trapping raid discovered them in an orchard using active mist nets.
During the raid, between the villages of Ormidhia and Xylophagou, the dedicated Bird Trapping Action Team working alongside the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, released 69 live “ambelopoulia” (Black Caps) which had been snared in three mist nets, the British Bases said in a press release.
The police have also confirmed that a bird imitating device used to attract migrating ambelopoulia was seized, along with three loudspeakers, 100 metres of electric cabling, one car battery and a vehicle used by the men.
All three are from the Xylophagou area and police are now in the process of tracing the owner of the orchard used for the crime.
Sergeant Yiannis Louca, who ran the operation, said the men are now all facing prosecution for their crimes.
“Firstly, this is a really good result and sends out a very strong message that despite our success in heavily reducing this crime over the years, we remain committed’ he said.
“We are still investigating this crime but the men will face prosecution in the SBA Court as we operate a zero-tolerance policy on bird trapping” he added.
Peaking prior to the bird trapping season starting at the end of August, Inspector Fanos Christodoulou, who oversees the team, warned trappers his officers were now better resourced and more prepared than ever before.
“We have assembled a team of 10, full of experience with officers that are keen to make a difference in tackling this crime,” he said.
“We will have the capacity to call on up to 10 members of the military to assist us in our operations when working on military land and on top of that, we will once again work very closely with Bird Life Cyprus and CABS to combat bird trapping” he noted.
“As always, we will continue to develop our technology, with drones, hidden cameras and any other modern means of detection” he added.
