Poaching penalties were among the issues discussed by Environment Committee chair Linos Papagiannis, who said existing fines cannot be described as lenient and called for stronger enforcement services and legislation.
Speaking on the “Protoselido” programme, Papagiannis said Parliament had not raised the issue of “lenient” penalties, pointing out that current legislation provides for substantial out-of-court fines and other sanctions.
€30,000 fine cited as example
Papagiannis explained that when someone chooses to take a case to court rather than pay an out-of-court fine, the matter is handled by the Judiciary, which is a separate branch of government and decides each case independently.
He cited a €30,000 fine for a poaching offence as an example, saying that whether such an amount is considered insufficiently deterrent is a separate matter.
He also said the discussion had initially been launched by the Environment Committee following complaints about what he described as “very dangerous activity” by certain activists who allegedly harass legal hunters.
Calls to strengthen anti-poaching unit
Papagiannis said the discussion subsequently also covered the response to poaching and the need to further strengthen the Anti-Poaching Unit.
He said the two issues should not be viewed as controversial, while also arguing that the discussion had at times shifted towards other matters and created confusion about its original focus.
According to Papagiannis, five separate incidents had been reported by Saturday following the committee’s latest meetings, involving allegations that legal hunters were harassed, threatened or verbally abused.
He referred to an incident in Larnaca district in which, according to his account, hunters were allegedly verbally abused and subjected to obscene gestures, while chairs were damaged and nooses were placed at a hunting location.
These allegations were presented by Papagiannis and were not independently established in the information provided.
Bill pending at Attorney General’s Office
Papagiannis also referred to a bill that he said has been at the Attorney General’s Office for around two and a half years.
According to the committee chair, the proposed legislation covers several issues relating to hunting, including game wardens, the procedure for obtaining a hunting licence before adulthood, training and other matters concerning legal hunting and the harassment of hunters.
He questioned why the bill had not yet been forwarded to Parliament and said the committee had decided to reopen the discussion and press for progress.
The Environment Committee is chaired by Papagiannis, according to the official Parliament website.
Poaching complaints not showing upward trend
On the scale of poaching, Papagiannis said data maintained by the Game and Fauna Service did not show an increase in complaints.
He said the issue remained serious but did not have an upward trend, adding that complaints and offences are recorded in a register that allows the situation to be monitored.
Papagiannis also said the discussion was not about large-scale involvement involving hundreds or thousands of people, but about specific cases that he associated with more serious forms of poaching.
He further claimed that some individuals involved in such activity have links to organised crime. This was his characterisation and was not independently established in the information provided.
The issue has been under discussion in the Environment Committee in recent weeks. Previous reports have also documented disagreements over the committee’s examination of alleged harassment of hunters by environmental activists.
Also read: Operation “Hunter” targets poaching in SBAs
For more videos and updates, check out our YouTube channel
