Limesticks, nets and illegal hunting in Greece
Around 175,000 hunting licence holders are registered in Greece. 32 bird species are officially authorised for hunting - from chukar and quails to golden plovers, lapwings and five songbird species (blackbird, fieldfare, redwing, mistle and song thrush). Unfortunately, there are no data on the annual bird hunting population, but it is very likely to be over two million birds.
Poaching is widespread. The use of nets in the north (mainly in the Rhodope region) and limesticks and clap-nets have been documented on the Aegean islands (mainly in the east near the Turkish coast and on Santorini). Cages also appear to be widespread throughout the country. Stone-crush traps, which are otherwise only known from southern France and northern Italy, are known from the Athens area. Many traditions are similar to those in Cyprus. The animals are caught for consumption, but also for the pet market.
Illegal hunting is a major problem in Greece. Reports of rampant songbird hunting - especially on the mainland - are frequent. Either protected species are shot or the respective daily hunting bag limits are significantly exceeded. Spring hunting, which is prohibited throughout the EU in accordance with the EU Birds Directive, is also widespread. On the Ionian islands - located off the west coast of Greece - spring hunting of endangered turtle dove and other endangered migratory bird species is particularly concentrated on the popular holiday island of Zakynthos. The use of electronic decoys is also common, as is the illegal sale of shot birds to restaurants.
The information we have on migratory bird poaching in Greece is relatively vague. In addition, we do not have a partner organisation that deals with this issue. This means that we cannot easily verify information about bird trapping and hunting that we receive. The Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) is currently collecting information in order to gradually gain an overview of the key hotspots of poaching. The first small committee missions have been taking place on the islands off the west coast of Greece since 2022.