British activists target ambelopoulia trapping
British activists led by journalist and campaigner Chris Packham are carrying out raids in areas where bird traps are illegally placed, as part of their clash with Cypriot trappers over ambelopoulia. In one case they freed trapped birds, while in another they protested outside Zygi police station.
The trapped birds, caught in lime sticks and nets, are often left for hours. Every attempt to free themselves leads to deeper entanglement and death from exhaustion. Those that survive are killed by the poachers.
Confrontations with poachers
This is not the first time activists have visited Cyprus, and their presence has often been confrontational, with clashes reported between activists, poachers, landowners and hunters.
Illegal but profitable delicacy
Cyprus aligned with European law by banning bird trapping, but the illegal trade in ambelopoulia remains an open secret. A dozen ambelopoulia can fetch up to €90, and the Game and Fauna Service estimated in 2010 that the trade generated €15 million annually.
Bird trapping is banned under national law (Law 152(I)/2003), the EU Birds Directive (2009/147/EC), and international treaties such as the 1979 Bern and Bonn Conventions. Lime sticks and mist nets have been prohibited in Cyprus since 1974, but enforcement has been weak. National law also bans the sale and possession of trapped birds, whether in restaurants or private homes.
Deep roots in Cypriot history
Trapping and eating wild birds, particularly ambelopoulia, dates back centuries. It was recorded in Byzantine times in Cyprus, Asia Minor, Crete, Malta, Syria and Lebanon, and continues in parts of the eastern Aegean.
Ambelopoulia are small migratory songbirds with brownish plumage that travel in huge numbers between Europe and warmer regions of the Mediterranean and Africa. They stop in Cyprus during their long migrations, making the island a major passage.
Migration through Cyprus
Ambelopoulia migrate south from August to November and north from March to May. Some remain in Cyprus during winter, while others continue further south. More than 100 million pass through Cyprus every spring and autumn.
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