Winter bird protection camp in Cyprus has started
20.01.2025
Our bird protection camp in Cyprus has only been running for a few days to combat bird trapping and illegal shooting, and we have already caught 3 poachers! At this time of year, numerous thrushes spend the winter on the Mediterranean island, and poachers chase them with electronic decoys, firearms, and nets. At Cape Greko, after a CABS report, a hunter was caught by the game wardens using an illegal electronic decoy to shoot thrushes. Another man has been reported because the child accompanying him (presumably his son) shot a stonechat with his gun. The game wardens caught a third poacher red-handed while checking a large trapping net. CABS members had found and reported the net earlier. Our bird protection camp will run until mid-February.
Sharp decline in poaching in Sardinia
18.01.2025
The Italian Mediterranean island is the only place in Europe where horsehair snares are still used to catch birds. The birds are eaten as a regional delicacy. CABS has been working against poaching in Sardinia since 1999 - including this winter. So far, the police have been able to convict three poachers as a result of our field investigations and 90 snares have been seized. Unfortunately, the birds we find in the traps are almost always already dead, but this year a robin was very lucky: it had only just got caught in a trap and was rescued at the last second by one of our activists and set free! In the 2000s, we regularly found over 10,000 snares during our bird protection camps, but fortunately bird trapping has now decreased significantly here too.
Successful operation in the Po Delta
13.01.2025
The Po estuary is one of the most important roosting and wintering areas for ducks, geese, waders and herons in the Mediterranean. Hunting is still legal and very widespread. Unfortunately, many hunters do not respect the law and either shoot protected species or use illegal hunting methods. This weekend, in the south of the vast wetland, a team from the Committee Against Bird Slaughter, together with the police, caught two people using illegal electronic decoys to hunt ducks. The perpetrators tried to escape in a boat, but were tracked by a drone and later arrested. Two decoys and two firearms were seized (photo).
To leave no stone unturned in southern France!
10.01.2024
This week, a committee team has inspected all known stone-crush trapping sites and surrounding areas in the departments of Lozère and Aveyron and found no active traps! It is the successful conclusion of a campaign that we first started back in 2006 and which ended with the ban on stone-traps in co-operation with our French partners at LPO. In December 2023, the Constitutional Court in Paris made a final ruling that this barbaric trapping method is not compatible with EU law. This means that stone crush-traps have finally become extinct throughout Europe, as even in Pavia (northern Italy) - the second known place where they were still used until a few years ago - no active traps were found during an inspection before Christmas!
Definitely a successful call for celebration! Read more here.
Our bird protection camps 2025 - join us!
03.01.2024
Together with our partners, we will once again be organising numerous anti-poaching campaigns in Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Malta, Cyprus and Lebanon in 2025. 23 of around 30 planned missions have already been scheduled.
You can find our schedule here.
The bird protection camps are inconceivable without voluntary support. There are a few requirements - among other things, you need to be in top shape, have a good knowledge of the species and have a good command of English. A good dose of courage is also required, as well as tolerance and the ability to work in a team.
You can read more about taking part in the campaigns here.
CABS Annual report 2024 - 337 poachers convicted
18.12.2024
Bird migration is over, the year is drawing to a close and it is time for our annual report. In 2024, a total of 216 volunteers from all over Europe took part in our 31 bird camps and over 50 smaller campaigns in 7 countries. 337 poachers were caught - 751 bird traps, 3,853 lime sticks, 477 nets, 190 decoys and 72 shotguns were confiscated. These are the results of our work to improve bird conservation over the last 12 months.
Details can be found in our 2024 Annual report.
Our bird protection time table for 2025 is also published - 23 of the 30 planned actions have already been scheduled. See our time table here.
Huge success in Cyprus - new record against poaching
15.12.2024
After almost three months, our autumn bird protection camp in Cyprus has come to an end. Particularly in the south-east of the island, 14 participants searched for trapping sites, an supported the police in their work against poaching. As a result of our team’s field investigations, 74 poachers were convicted - more than ever before! The authorities confiscated 1,302 limesticks, 88 nets and 101 electronic decoys. Over 700 migratory birds, including warblers, thrushes, owls, redstarts and shrikes, were freed from the traps by our volunteers - thousands more were not even caught!
Read more about our operations in Cyprus here.
Wildlife crime in a tourist paradise - Santorini exposé
12.12.2024
The famous Greek holiday island of Santorini is a hotspot for poaching in the eastern Mediterranean. The island is littered with trapping sites where the perpetrators illegally catch finches with trapping nets and ‘live decoy’ birds. The birds end up confined in tiny cages and are displayed everywhere in villages, hotels and restaurants. During an initial mission by CABS this autumn, our experts found a total of 107 active trapping sites - often easily visible to everyone. The sheer scale of the bird trapping shows that the police and hunting authorities on Santorini are completely overwhelmed by the situation. It was only after our reports that the officers took obligatory action and convicted 3 poachers. 3 poaching nets and 40 birds were seized.
Watch here our video from Santorini.
Bird protection camps on Malta complete - 370 birds rescued
24.11.2024
Since mid-September, a team of twenty volunteers have been working on Malta and Gozo to combat the shooting of protected species and bird-trapping. During the nine-week bird protection camp, we caught a total of 21 poachers and 24 pairs of clap-nets and other trapping equipment were confiscated by the Environmental Police (EPU) following our tip-offs. Over 370 birds were also seized, mainly goldfinches, linnets and hawfinches. The bird trappers had used them as live decoys at the trapping sites. One of the convicted offenders was a board member of the Maltese hunting organisation FKNK, who has since been stripped of all offices.
You can find out more about our bird protection campaigns and anti-poaching operations in Malta 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.
