52 Red footed falcons shot in Cyprus

28/08/2006 00:00:00 BirdLife Cyprus has recorded the biggest massacre of birds of prey on the island, or anywhere else in Europe, in recent years. The incident, which took place within the Akrotiri British Sovereign Base Area, involved the shooting of 52 red-footed falcons, a bird threatened with global extinction, that were migrating through the island. Mike Miltiadous, a BirdLife Cyprus research officer, said: ‘I have never come across such a scale of a massacre of birds of prey in Cyprus.’

The Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
The Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area shares a border with the Republic, and it is reported that hunters are taking advantage of the lack of joint anti-poaching patrols by the Sovereign Base Area Police and the Cyprus Game Fund, which regulates hunting on behalf of the Cypriot government.

Martin Hellicar, the Executive Manager of BirdLife Cyprus, said: ‘Friday’s massacre should have been prevented by the SBA Police, but we believe it is the product of the unacceptably lax state of affairs in this part of the island.’ BirdLife Cyprus also called for an immediate ban on shooting on the entire Akrotiri peninsula. Although almost all the peninsula is a protected reserve a narrow coastal strip along the west is opened for hunting of turtle dove and quail from early September to mid-October.

The RSPB has been working with BirdLife Cyprus for many years to clamp down on illegal bird killing.

The Society’s Nicola Crockford said: ‘Red-footed falcons are suffering an alarming decline in Europe. This terrible massacre must act as a catalyst for better co-operation between the Sovereign Base Area and the Cyprus Game Fund.’