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Rarities & Conservation: Concerns grow over lack of enforcement against Cypriot bird trappers

4 March 2025
By James Hamilton
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WARNING: GRAPHIC AND SENSITIVE CONTENT - Blackcap, adult male trapped in mist net, Cyprus 2019. Credit: Guy Shorrock

The latest report on illegal songbird trapping in Cyprus, including within British base areas, highlights that this practice remains a significant problem.

According to systematic field monitoring by BirdLife Cyprus, with long-term support from the RSPB and the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), the Autumn Trapping Report estimates that approximately 620,000 songbirds were killed in the survey area during Autumn 2024.
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In marked contrast, the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) achieved a 22% reduction in trapping with nets through effective enforcement. The SBA Police strengthened their Anti-Poaching Unit with additional personnel, demonstrating how sufficient resources can achieve significant results.  

Tassos Shialis, Campaign Coordinator of BirdLife Cyprus, states: "The situation in the Republic of Cyprus is deeply concerning. While we see exemplary enforcement and cooperation in the SBAs leading to real progress, organized trappers in the Republic continue their illegal activities largely unchallenged. Despite the Memorandum of Cooperation signed between the Game and Fauna Service and the Cyprus Police in July 2023 to tackle this issue, the Cyprus enforcement authorities have been failing to effectively tackle these criminal groups. In particular, the Cyprus Police Anti-Poaching unit has showed very little enforcement action against bird trapping since its formation back in June 2023, which is highly disappointing". 

The island of Cyprus is an important part of the autumn migration of many birds as they migrate across the Mediterranean between their breeding grounds in Europe to their over-wintering grounds in Africa. Songbirds familiar to the UK such as Blackcaps, Robins and Garden Warblers use the island as a stepping stone on their epic journeys. The presence of so many of these amazing birds also attracts criminal gangs. 

Every autumn songbirds are illegally trapped and killed, before being sold via the black market to restaurants in the Republic of Cyprus for the local and expensive delicacy of ‘ambelopoulia’ or for home consumption. This huge operation, often linked to organised crime, involves gangs using electronic decoys to lure birds into mist nets placed between acacia bushes and within orchards, or using sticky limesticks to catch birds as they move around the vegetation. 

Before the international partnership began to assist authorities in tackling this issue 20 years ago, over two million birds were caught every year, with an estimated figure of over ten million birds being trapped in the 1990s. To tackle this illegal activity, law enforcement authorities in Cyprus, particularly the Sovereign Base Area Police, have worked with BirdLife Cyprus, CABS and the RSPB. This has seen a massive reduction in the number of traps being detected and birds being killed particularly within the UK controlled areas. 

Mark Thomas the RSPB’s head of investigations said: “For more than twenty years, our international partnership has shown that we can effectively combat the illegal trapping and killing of songbirds in Cyprus through direct action on the ground, supported by enforcement efforts. Last autumn has shown however, that significant challenges remain, particularly in the Republic of Cyprus. 

“We cannot allow the progress we have made to falter, nor can we let the shocking levels of songbird killings return to the levels we once saw. In the British Sovereign Base Areas, it's crucial that police resources are maintained to ensure the low levels of bird trapping achieved in recent years are sustained. In the Republic of Cyprus, we need a renewed and unwavering commitment from the government to address the organised criminal networks behind this industry, which continues to generate enormous profits with minimal risk. 

“This is a fight we must win, for the birds and for the future of our shared natural heritage.” 
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