400,000 Songbirds in Cyprus Killed by Organized Crime Group

More than 400,000 songbirds were caught and slaughtered in Cyprus last autumn as part of a growing trend of wildlife crime.

The survey, prepared by BirdLife Cyprus with cooperation from the RSPB and the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (Cabs), discovered that 435,000 birds were murdered in this manner in the autumn of 2023 alone.

While the number caught has been decreasing over the last decade, last year saw a 90,000 increase from 2022.

Organized criminal networks utilize decoys and speakers playing birdsong to entice small birds, including garden favorites like robins and sparrows, to land in bushes or orchards, where they are caught with "mist" nets or glue-coated branches.

They are subsequently sold to restaurants through the secret market for consumption as a local dish known as "ambelopoulia," which consists of pickled or cooked songbirds.

The director of BirdLife Cyprus, Martin Hellicar, said that despite the very good progress made in recent years, this autumn was a reminder that this can be quickly reversed if enforcement resources are not maintained.

Every year, Cyprus serves as a stopover for many birds on their massive autumn migrations from their breeding areas in Europe to their overwintering sites in Africa.

Blackcaps, flycatchers, chiffchaffs, willow warblers, reed warblers, and Cetti's warblers are among those targeted, many of which are in serious decline in the United Kingdom.

The practice of catching songbirds for human consumption was forbidden in Cyprus in 1974, although it is still done on an industrial basis.

Twenty years ago, more than 2 million birds were caught in this manner each year, with over 10 million slaughtered in the 1990s. Since then, law enforcement officials in Cyprus have collaborated with BirdLife Cyprus, Cabs, and the RSPB to limit the number of birds killed.

Surveys have counted at least 157 bird species seized by trappers, 90 of which are listed for conservation by the EU Bird Directive.

Every year, millions of birds migrate from their nesting areas in Europe to overwinter in Africa, with the eastern Mediterranean island on their route.

More Still Need To Be Done

Authorities discovered that more than 4.5 kilometers of netting was being used to capture birds. Much of the rise came from the British military installation in Cyprus, the Sovereign installation Area (SBA), which had a 41% increase in nets out over the previous year.

The SBA anti-poaching unit's resources were severely cut at the start of the trapping season in the autumn of 2023. According to the report, "This season was a good case study of what can happen when police resources are removed/redirected from illegal trapping enforcement and deterrence action."

Investigation also shows that organized trappers continue to reap enormous rewards for minimal risk and police resources were required to keep bird capturing numbers low.

"For two decades, our international partnership has shown that we can work together to tackle this criminal activity through direct action on the ground backed up by enforcement action. However, this autumn shows that more still needs to be done, particularly in the Republic of Cyprus," said Mark Thomas, the head of RSPB investigations.