Spring bird protection operations complete
05.06.2022
CABS spring operations 2022: Since the beginning of March, we have helped convict a total of 69 poachers who were found to have illegally shot or trapped birds in more than ten bird protection operations across Italy, Malta, Cyprus, Lebanon and Germany. 53 activists from England, Italy, Malta, Lebanon, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and Germany were involved. 501 traps, 91 nets, four firearms, >800 rounds of ammunition and 19 electronic decoy callers were seized and 159 trapping sites were shut down. 176 live birds were released, including warblers, redstarts, nightingales and turtle doves. 81 birds were recovered dead.
You can find more information about our projects here.
CABS call for removal of deadly ground nets in Cyprus
23.05.2022
Last June, CABS reported 12 locations to the Department of Environment of Ministry of Agriculture where dead protected wildlife were found caught in ground nets. We urged the authorities to take immediate actions and remove the reported nets before more animals get caught and die.
When we checked the reported locations again this spring, we were shocked to find out that all nets are still laid out at all 12 reported locations. The Department of Environment clearly didn’t take any action and as a result a total of 20 freshly killed snakes and other wildlife, such as starred agamas, hedgehogs and birds were discovered in these nets.
Read our latest Cyprus press release here.
Successful action against illegal songbird hunting in Italy
26.04.2022
In recent weeks, CABS staff on the island of Ischia have collected extensive evidence of the illegal trapping and shooting of Whinchat, Wheatear and other protected migratory birds. The material, including videos showing two men trapping birds, was handed over to the forest police. During house searches, 20 ready-to-use songbird traps, two unregistered shotguns with ground-off serial numbers, 800 rounds of ammunition and several freshly killed songbirds were seized. Criminal proceedings were initiated against the suspected poachers for violation of the hunting and weapons laws.
Found out more about CABS operations on Ischia here.
Spring hunting of turtle dove in Malta
17.04.2022
Despite European legislation and a European population decline of -30% in the last 15 years (!), the Maltese government has once again given in to the hunting lobby and allowed spring hunting of Turtle Dove. From today until the end of the month, the total of 8,041 registered hunters are allowed to kill 1,500 migrating turtle doves. In addition to the turtle dove, 2,400 quail are also now open for spring shooting.
More information on spring hunting in Malta can be found here.
Anti-poaching against illegal finch trapping on Malta
05.04.2022
Over the last 5 weeks, more than a dozen bird guard volunteers have come together to conduct field investigations and report active finch trapping sites to the Malta police Environmental Protection Unit (EPU). In total, CABS teams have reported 26 sites on Malta and 19 on Gozo which has so far resulted in the arrest of 33 trappers. 49 Clap-nets and 9 electronic decoys callers have been seized well over 100 birds have been recovered and handed over to the Wild Bird Regulation Unit (WBRU). A further 35 sites which were inaccessible have also been reported to the authorities.
Find out more about our bird protection operations on Malta in the Campaigns and Operations section of our website.
CABS Cyprus autumn report now available
31.03.2022
CABS Cyprus autumn 2021 report published: 140 active trapping sites detected in Famagusta, Larnaka and Dhekelia, the British Eastern Sovereign Base Area (ESBA). Between September and mid-November 2021, a small staff team together with 14 volunteers from 7 different countries conducted field investigations to monitor and report the illegal killing of birds in Cyprus. In total, 139 nets, 2,473 limesticks were found and dismantled. 49 prosecutions made for trapping and 16 for illegal hunting and a direct result of our field investigations. Overall, we conclude that there is a steady consistent increase in criminal activities.
Read our recent press release together with link to full report here.
Griffon vulture rescue in Lebanon
29.03.2022
As part of our spring campaign, our teams together with SPNL and the Lebanese MESHC Anti-Poaching Unit tracked down a Griffon vulture marked with rings from the ornithological station in Sofia, Bulgaria. Investigations revealed that the bird with the ring code "B6P" was ringed in 2018 as a young bird in a nest in Bulgaria and fitted with a GPS tracker. Based on the transmitter data received, it was previously assumed that the vulture was directly killed by poachers on its first journey to its wintering grounds in Syria in November 2018. Now it is clear: the rare bird survived and was subsequently brought to Lebanon, where now - three and a half years later – it was discovered alive by us in a zoo in Baalbek. The owner of the zoo agreed to hand over the bird to us. After examinations, the bird is likely to be released back into the wild.
Find out more about our bird protection operations in Lebanon here.
Illegal raptor persecution in Germany
14.01.2022
New ‘heat map’ shows extent of illegal raptor persecution in Germany - 299 out of 401 districts and independent cities affected. Today CABS publish an updated map based on our latest data to illustrate incidents of raptor persecution across Germany. The map shows the distribution of 1,591 cases recorded by wildlife crime monitoring scheme between 2005 and 2021 at district level. These were mainly confirmed kills involving poison, traps and firearms, in which a total of 2,166 goshawks, buzzards, red kites, peregrine falcons and other birds of prey were killed. The map clearly shows that this is a nationwide problem. Since most acts are committed in remote locations or on private property, our experts assume that more than 90 % of all stalking cases go undetected.
You can find more data at www.greifvogelverfolgung.de or in our bird protection blog.
Committee Against Bird Slaughter - Annual Report 2021
21.12.2021
This year, despite the pandemic, CABS conducted a total of 26 bird protection camps with more than 140 participants across seven countries. After evaluating all the outreaches, camps and actions, our teams dismantled and seized a total of 6151 illegal traps, 255 nets and 244 electronic decoys. 268 poachers (and bird traffickers) were prosecuted and over 2300 birds were freed unharmed back into the wild. With the activity report published today on our website, we give an overview of our activities in 2021: The record high number of poacher convictions compared to previous years is due on the one hand to the particularly high "success rate" of our teams in Malta and Cyprus this year, and on the other hand to the expansion of our actions in Spain.
A detailed summary of some of the other highlights of this year can be found in our report here.
Your donation makes the difference!
Your donation will enable us to fund our campaigns and bird protection camps throughout Europe, to keep up the fight for migratory birds. CABS is almost exclusively financed with private donations, from nature and animal lovers, as well as foundations and nature conservation associations. In order to stay independent, we do not receive public funds and we refuse business sponsorships. CABS is recognised as non-profit, thus, donations are tax-deductible. For a donation of 25 € or more, you will receive a donation receipt at the beginning of the following year.
