Illegal Bird Trapping in Cyprus 2016

'Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning'.
Winston Churchill


I am just back from a 2 week stint volunteering for the Campaign Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) in Cyprus.  Some of you may recall I was there last year at the same time and blogged about my experiences afterwards - a fairly depressing missive.  Regrettably, this year was much the same if not worse, and the focus of interest was on the UK administered Eastern Sovereign Base Area (ESBA) in the Famagusta region.  Prior to my deployment CABS asked me to write to the Head of the British administration, an Air Vice-Marshall Wigston, in order to apprise him of my experiences last year and to invite him into the field to experience the problem at first hand.  I duly received a courteous reply thanking me for the information I supplied and confirming that his staff would accompany us into the field on his behalf - fair enough I thought.

A couple of Scops Owls (one struggling to stay awake!) rescued from the butcher's nets on UK-administered Cape Pyla.

Some of the CABS team and their transport - very inconspicuous in the country at night.

Cutting birds free from a mist net just after 0600.

Approximately 900,000 wild migratory birds are killed every autumn in the ESBA.  This figure is implausibly high but has been checked by several authoritative agencies. Why is the situation in the ESBA so bad? Probably because of a reluctance by British to upset local sensitivities - law enforcement demands are being trumped by diplomatic needs.  The meeting I had arranged with the ESBA was cancelled at short notice and, despite a promise on their part to make alternative arrangements, no further contact was made.  Wonderful.

A cruel variation on a theme - lime sticks and drinking water.  Note the feathers top right of the photo.

Collecting lime sticks in a small olive grove located right in the middle of Ayia Napa.  A garden of death surrounded by hotels and swimming pools.

A mist net at dawn - note the trapped bird.

CABS have been campaigning on this issue for years and have reached a point of extreme frustration with the British because the measures they were taking were too little and, therefore, the situation was not getting better.  The SBA Police anti poaching unit is staffed by some fine local men yet the support they receive in terms of equipment and uniforms - some patrolling in worn out training shoes and a rag tag of uniforms last used by the British military in the 1980s - is woeful.  So I arrived back on the island wanting to believe that the British were taking effective action but sadly I came to the view that they were not.

Me being interviewed for BBC News.

Freeing a Garden Warbler.

A female Blackcap - she's wet because water is needed to remove the lime glue.

This year, however, things might at last start to get better.  We were joined on the island by a BBC News team and by Chris Packham and his film team.  The BBC report can be found here and Chris Packam's piece can be found here.  In my view, shining a light into this wretched case is the only way to force the British to take the action necessary to eliminate this practice.  As Chris Packham said to us, being concerned is now not enough (if ever it was).  Action, in the form of letters to MPs, lobbying of the MoD and the use of social media, are needed to mobilise public opinion.  And in the mean time, thousands of birds will continue to be killed every night.

CABS volunteers at the end of a night shift.

A mixed bag of CABS volunteers (from Italy, Germany, Slovenia, the UK, Malaysia, Switzerland and Cyprus) with Chris Packham (centre wearing a green T-shirt) displaying their haul of mist nets.