A Greek-Cypriot man was fined €2,000 last week after pleading guilty to bird trapping offences dating back to January in the Achna Forest area, according to the British bases press service.
The man was arrested in possession of eight ‘freshly killed thrushes’, two mist-nets and an ‘active’ bird imitating device during a joint operation between the Sovereign Base Area Police and members of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS).
During the early-hours operation, members of the CABS team reported hearing an imitating device coming from a semi-fenced orchard and despite the man’s attempts to flee the scene as officers approached, he was later arrested and admitted the offences.
Officials revealed last month that over the next year the police are confident of securing extra funding to add new technology to combat bird trapping, including better surveillance equipment, with updated drones and cameras.
