Bird protection camp in northern Italy begins.
03.10.2024
Today marks the start of our major autumn action in the province of Brescia/Lombardy. The mountains between Lake Garda and Lake Iseo are a hotspot for migratory bird poaching - tens of thousands of hunters and trappers actively target the waves of migratory birds funnelling through the passes on their journey south.
The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) has been coordinating regular autumn bird protection camp in this region every October since 1984! This year, around 50 volunteers from the UK, Italy, Spain, Poland, Switzerland, Austria and Germany are due to participate.
Find out more about our campaigns and anti-poaching operations in northern Italy here.
New CABS video shows Honey Buzzard shot down in Malta
01.10.2024
Last Friday, CABS team was filming a honey buzzard on its way to a roost near Buskett when the bird was suddenly shot and fell to the ground. A man with a shotgun was then seen searching the area for the bird, but left a short time later - presumably having noticed our team. The critically injured bird was subsequently recovered by the Environmental Protection Unit (EPU) officers, who also initiated criminal proceedings based on our evidence. The suspect has since been identified and questioned by the officers. This case is the latest in a series of raptor shootings uncovered by our partners the Malta Ranger Unit, Birdlife Malta and ourselves.
Watch here our new video published on YouTube.
Read our press release here.
Migratory bird rescue with the United Nation (UN)
30.09.2024
Our Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) team has rescued almost 100 trapped migratory birds from poachers’ nets together with the United Nations Police, in the no man's land strip between the Turkish north and Greek republic in the south of Cyprus. The UN officials had discovered the trapping site and participants from our bird protection camp helped to free the birds. Two huge nets, each 20 metres long, and an electronic decoy were seized. The 98 birds rescued included many blackcaps as well as red-backed shrikes, reed warblers and marsh warblers.
Further joint operations with the UN in Cyprus will be planned for the coming days and weeks.
Middle East conflict: Lebanon autumn mission ends
25.09.2025
We have been actively working in Lebanon since 2017. Despite numerous hurdles, our team of nature lovers and cooperation with our partners SPNL and MESHC Anti-Poaching Unit has grown steadily. Together, we are advancing bird conservation in the country and have already achieved successes. Nevertheless, we have to react to the escalating conflict and the humanitarian situation in Lebanon and have ended our bird protection camp for the time being. Our friends and colleagues must focus on their safety and that of their families during this difficult time and the police must also prioritise the protection of the civilian population.
We very much hope that we will soon be able to resume our work as usual.
Justice for birds - End of trapping on Malta?
19.09.2024
In a landmark ruling, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) today declared the trapping of seven finch species in Malta, to be illegal – a practice which has been criticised by Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) for years. According to the judges in Luxembourg, the practice clearly violates Article 9 of the EU Birds Directive and may no longer be authorised. The proceedings before the ECJ are the premature conclusion of a long-running dispute between bird conservationists and the Maltese Labour Government, which has repeatedly tried to circumvent the Birds Directive in recent years in order to secure the votes of bird trappers.
The "Courthouse News" has published a worth redaing article about the sentence: EU’s top court clips wings on Malta finch trapping
Poacher gang caught in Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus
18.09.2024
Three poachers arrested in the eastern Sovereign Base Area of Cyprus: During a joint anti-poaching operation between the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) and SBA Police, three poachers were arrested in Ormidhia on Tuesday. After three persons were arrested CABS and the Police officers dismantled the nets and carefully rescued and released 69 birds, all belonging to protected species including blackcap, garden warblers, red-backed shrike and a Cyprus scops owl. CABS thank the SBA Police officers for their fast response and approach and urged the authorities to also investigate the suspects for possible tax evasion and laundering of the profits gained from their illegal activity.
Marsh harrier shot - poacher convicted in Calabria.
05.09.2024
Teams from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) and our southern Italian partner Gruppo Adorno have caught a poacher in a suburb of the harbour town of Reggio Calabria. The man, who has neither a firearms licence nor a hunting permit, had shot a marsh harrier. The suspect is now facing criminal proceedings for poaching and violating gun laws after we called the police who made an arrest. Hunting endangered birds of prey such as honey buzzards and marsh harriers, which are currently migrating in large numbers from southern Italy via Sicily and Malta to Africa, is often seen as some kind of ritual of ‘masculinity’.
You can find out more about CABS bird protection camps and anti-poaching operations in Calabria here.
15 bird collectors caught in northern Italy
26.08.2024
In northern Italy exists a widespread habit of self-described "bird lovers" meeting up during the late summer to publicly exhibit their prized birds for display and singing competitions. Our investigations in recent weeks have shown that these events are often linked to some form of foul play behind the scenes. During four inspections in three regions, together with colleagues from our partner LIPU and in close cooperation with the police, we already identified around 80 birds with either fake or manipulated ID rings from 15 exhibitors and alleged birds breeders. The finches, tree pipits, italian sparrows and thrushes were confiscated and will soon be released. Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the perpetrators.
SPECIAL REPORT: Audubon magazine reports on our work.
16.08.2024
The summer issue of the member magazine of the National Audubon Society - the largest conservation organisation in the USA with 2 million members - features an article on the dramatic situation of bird conservation in eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Entitled "Poaching Birds is Big Money for the Mafia in Cyprus - but a Brave Few Are Fighting Back", the article reports in detail on the background to poaching on the Mediterranean island, the political entanglements and the work of the two organisations fighting to end bird trapping: BirdLife Cyprus and the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS).
You can find the link to the article, which is well worth reading, directly at the Audubon homepage.
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.
