UK bases official: No let-up on bird poaching crackdown

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FILE - In this Nov. 3, 2012 file photo, a bird is entangled in a net used by poachers to trap birds, in the early morning in the Larnaca district of Cyprus. A spokesman for Britain’s two military bases on Cyprus said on Wednesday Feb. 1, 2017, there will be no let-up in an ongoing crackdown against illegal bird trapping on bases territory. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)

NICOSIA, Cyprus – A spokesman for Britain’s two military bases on Cyprus says that there will be no letup in an ongoing crackdown against illegal bird trapping on the facilities.

Sean Tully said Wednesday that authorities will continue nightly operations to uproot acacia trees in which trappers hide nets used to snare migratory birds.

Authorities removed about 100 acacia saplings from a firing range Tuesday.

Migratory birds locally known as “ambelopoulia” are considered a delicacy. Trappers use nets and sticks slathered with a sticky substance to trap birds and supply restaurants in a lucrative underground trade. Conservationists groups say that the nets and sticks also trap endangered bird species.

Tully said 54 acres (20 hectares) of bases territory have been cleared of acacia and another 90 acres (35 hectares) remain to be cleared.

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