Cyprus authorities have for the first time issued fines for killing rare wild birds using poison bait, conservationists on the Mediterranean island said Monday.
Fines totaling 21,000 euros (nearly $23,000) were last week ordered for people after three birds of prey were found dead on a rural property in the southern Limassol district, the BirdLife Cyprus group said.
The punishment “represents a major step that will have a strong deterrent effect on similar illegal acts”, BirdLife project coordinator Melpo Apostolidou said in a statement.
First
“This is the first time in Cyprus the crime of using poison bait and killing wild birds by using poison has been prosecuted.”
The offense occurred in December 2021 when two rare Bonelli’s eagles and one long-legged buzzard were found dead near the village of Dierona after a GPS transmitter attached to one of the eagles led authorities to find them.
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The evidence collected linked the death to the suspect who was found to have deliberately killed the animal “to protect the chicken” from the bird, Apostolidou said.
Under Cypriot law, courts can impose a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine of up to 20,000 euros, or a combination of both for each offence.
Birds from Spain
BirdLife has described the use of poison bait in the countryside as a wildlife crime, saying it has driven iconic species including the griffon vulture to the brink of extinction in Cyprus.
Once common in Cyprus – in the 1950s there were several hundred large scavengers throughout the island – it is now thought that only nine griffon vultures remain.
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Since 2005, 31 vultures have been poisoned in an attempt to replenish the bird’s population from Spain.
Apostolidou called on the authorities to do more to prevent poisoning.