Over 866,000 birds slaughtered so far

[Dogghound]

Call for action against illegal bird trapping in Cyprus Petition

Just thought id circulate this, to make people aware and get as much support as possible.

Thanks.

"Disastrously, the number of birds killed on limesticks and in mist nets in Cyprus this autumn is increasing sharply, reaching over 860,000 by October 9th…and it is still growing. The rising death toll from this illegal and ecologically damaging activity is being tracked by BirdLife Cyprus’s field team and published on the BirdLife Cyprus website, in a bid to raise awareness about this growing problem. An on-line petition calls for immediate action from the responsible Cypriot Ministers.
The toll is estimated on the basis of field data from BirdLife’s ongoing field monitoring of trapping activity with mist nets and limesticks, part of a systematic surveillance programme. This latest estimate – 866,905 birds- represents the number of birds killed between Thursday 1st September and Sunday 9th October 2011. The trappers are after Blackcaps and other songbirds, which will end up as illegal, and expensive, ambelopoulia delicacies served up in law-breaking restaurants, allowing the trappers to make huge profits. The first estimate for the autumn 2011 season, posted on September 12th, was for almost 90,000 birds, but trapping has gained pace since then. The estimate will be updated every Monday until the end of October.
So far- and many thanks to all the people who have supported our campaign so far – almost 10,000 people have signed.
“The trapping is out of control this autumn – we are witnessing a slaughter on a massive scale. The non-selective nature of nets and limesticks means that not just blackcaps and other warblers, but also nightjars, owls, shrikes, flycatchers and dozens of other species are being taken. Please help us put pressure on the authorities to re-double enforcement efforts and target the law-breaking restaurants serving ambelopoulia”, said Martin Hellicar, Campaigns Manager of BirdLife Cyprus".

[Dogghound]

Forgot to say, if your undecided or unaware watch the video.

[Wild-Woman]

Thanks. Petition signed.

Barbaric.

[The Woodman]

Having signed the petition (14043), I'm bemused by the little ad on the top right of the Congratulations page for the Haierc Bird control Spike!

[tigertom]

All signed. The traping of birds there and malta is one reson I would never go for a holliday to either of these places. and certainly think if there was a mass boycot of both for hollidays that lost them income the goverments there may start to take some action.
MIKE

[2dogs2000]

Signed. I had heard of this but to watch the video shows how barbaric it is. It is not just about how many birds are being killed but HOW they are being killed. It was very distressing to watch the video.

[AfternoonLemon]

Originally Posted by Dogghound

Forgot to say, if your undecided or unaware watch the video.

Originally Posted by 2dogs2000

Signed. I had heard of this but to watch the video shows how barbaric it is. It is not just about how many birds are being killed but HOW they are being killed. It was very distressing to watch the video.

Absolutely, if they were being humanely killed and it was only well-populated species, I wouldn't object as much, but that is awful to watch

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by tigertom

All signed. The traping of birds there and malta is one reson I would never go for a holliday to either of these places.

Same here!

Jim

[Shrike]

signed. Turtle Dove populations have already been decimated by bird trappers so much so they are now regarded as scarce and others will follow.

[rossy]

signed the petition , its appalling and sick. and ill cross cyprus off my holiday list rossy.