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Every year in Cyprus, hundreds of thousands of songbirds are killed illegally and sold as a local delicacy. Poachers often attack activists trying to save the birds. DW tagged along with Andrea Rutigliano of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), to one of the bird trapping sites.

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00:00He's threatening us to leave.
00:07Andrea Rutigliano is a member of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter,
00:11a Germany-based environmental NGO.
00:13Each autumn he travels to Cyprus to help combat the illegal mass-trapping of migratory birds.
00:20His efforts have made him a persona non grata among the island's poachers,
00:24as well as among those who view this practice as part of Cyprus's traditional hunting culture.
00:30The level of violence is very high in Cyprus,
00:32the highest we've ever experienced everywhere in Europe.
00:35Normalities, people assaulting us, shouting abuses,
00:39we've been beaten up many times, I got my ear membrane torn by a punch,
00:43there was a court case after that,
00:45but also in the night's car chasing us without lights,
00:49chasing us without registration number,
00:52sometimes dangerous driving,
00:55we've been shot at,
00:57our cars have been shot down,
00:59yesterday four tires have been slashed by professional trappers,
01:03so we know that when we are in Cyprus it's like a warfare.
01:06The conflict centres around the blackcap, known in Cyprus as Ambelopulia.
01:11These small migratory birds pass through the island each autumn and spring
01:15on their seasonal journey.
01:17Yet for many, the migration ends in Cyprus,
01:20where they are trapped in large numbers and sold as a rare delicacy on the black market.
01:27High demand has driven their price up to 100 euros per dozen,
01:31attracting not only amateur trappers,
01:33but also organised criminal groups involved in their capture.
01:37There are so many birds migrating in Cyprus during this season,
01:41so in the night they put these night decoys,
01:44the collars that attract the birds to these trapping sites,
01:47the gardens, some are fenced, some are not fenced,
01:50and during the night or in the morning they set up these huge nets,
01:54sometimes more than 20 metres long, 6 metres high,
01:57and they can catch up to 150 birds in one net, we have seen with our eyes.
02:03Then they take down the birds, they bite their neck and throw in a bin,
02:09collect them and sell, and these birds are sold in tavernas, in restaurants,
02:13and they make big money out of it.
02:15Black Caps are trapped using mist nets and limesticks,
02:19two illegal non-selective hunting methods.
02:22This causes irreversible damage to the ecosystem,
02:25as dozens of threatened endemic and migratory species,
02:29protected under national law, EU directives and international conventions,
02:34are also trapped and killed.
02:36Petro Sanagiotos is an officer with the Game and Wildlife Service,
02:43the authority responsible for combating poaching.
02:46He acknowledges that completely eradicating the problem is no easy task.
02:51At a large level, the PNP has been determined,
02:55in accordance with what happened for 20 years.
02:58However, in some cases,
03:00especially in these organized services
03:02that they do with the economic cost,
03:04they continue to keep.
03:06The PNP has been found at 60.000€.
03:09You can imagine that when a team organizes
03:13with economic benefits,
03:15there are likely some PNP that may not be
03:19the case of the PNP,
03:22even though the PNP is very high and high.
03:26We also have to look at the PNP,
03:28that these PNP have worked in the areas
03:30that these PNP,
03:32have been able to look at the PNP,
03:35to ensure that the PNP is not the possible possible.
03:37The PNP is usually the same as the PNP,
03:39as the PNP,
03:40as the PNP,
03:41as the PNP,
03:42as the PNP,
03:43as the PNP,
03:44as the PNP,
03:45as the PNP,
03:46as the PNP,
03:47as the PNP.
03:48In the areas,
03:49there are dogs.
03:50So,
03:51it is not as easy as some people say.
03:54According to data from environmental organizations
03:57such as CABS and BirdLife Cyprus,
04:00the number of birds killed has declined
04:02compared to previous decades.
04:04However,
04:05between 500,000 and 1 million birds
04:08are still killed in Cyprus each year.
04:11There is no political will to eliminate the phenomenon.
04:16What we see is they react positively
04:18when we make enough pressure.
04:20But they have never seen in the last 10 years
04:23anything like proactively done.
04:25So they have no strategy.
04:26They just say,
04:27police doesn't need to do this job.
04:29It's Tira.
04:30We know that Tira is not able to cope with such a phenomenon,
04:33so criminal,
04:34so well organized,
04:35but they don't find a solution.
04:37Maybe they want to keep,
04:38you know,
04:39they want to catch some small fishes every year
04:41in order to say,
04:42we've done our part of the job.
04:43But the phenomenon itself is not tackled at all.
04:46A characteristic example of state-level backtracking
04:50due to pressure from local communities
04:52and economic interests
04:53was the disbandment of the anti-poaching unit
04:56of the police in 2019.
04:59The risk of Cyprus being exposed to international bodies
05:03led the new government to re-establish the unit in 2023.
05:09There are already some attempts
05:11so that all the employees of the police
05:14can be implemented.
05:16Because at this time,
05:17a part of the employees of the police
05:19is not implemented.
05:21We now provide a law plan
05:24so that the employees can use cameras and drones
05:28which can be implemented
05:30as a part of the police department
05:33in the police department
05:34to establish such a situation,
05:36which is something that
05:37we will lock our hands
05:39to establish such a situation
05:41that can be difficult.
05:43Advances in technology and new legislation
05:46offer hope
05:47that the illegal trapping of migratory birds
05:50could be eradicated in Cyprus.
05:52But activists say
05:53that political will to enforce them
05:56is essential.
06:00as he can stand up,
06:01that is very aggressive.
06:02He can be careful
06:04that the a lot of individuals
06:06do not have to do
06:07in the cities.
06:08He can also remember
06:09that the police department
06:10is not particularly
06:11to promote the police department
06:12and the police department
06:13of the police department
06:14in the city.
06:15But as they can to take
06:16who are calling in the city
06:17of the electrician,
06:18the fire department
06:19and to the employees
06:20who are working
06:21so that they can be
06:23for the police department.
06:24And you can see
06:25the police department
06:26and who call
06:27all the police department
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