Santorini - Poaching in a holiday paradise
Poaching, bird-trapping and illegal animal trade are widespread in Greece. The Aegean islands are particularly affected, where wild birds are caught for food or end up in cages and sold as pets. In addition to Rhodes, Thasos and Naxos, the famous holiday island of Santorini - one of the Cyclades islands - is a hotspot for bird poaching in Greece. Where in summer cruise ships bring tens of thousands of tourists to the idyllic villages, in autumn criminal poachers begin to stir en masse.
The trappers mainly use a form of clap-net, which are placed in an open area between dead bushes (as perches). At the centre of the site is a waterhole, which also gives the tradition its name. The locals call the trapping sites ‘limnes’ (lake in Greek), the trappers are called ‘limnarides’. In addition to the bird bath, seeds, thistles and live decoys are often used to attract passing migratory birds. Most of these decoys are placed in cages around the trapping site, but some are also cruelly tethered to the ground with a string. Electronic decoys with birdsong are also used. The trappers hide in small crates a few metres away and trigger the net manually when the birds land.
Another common trapping method is small cage traps, which are baited with food or placed near live decoy birds to catch finches alive. Cage traps can be bought in many shops in Santorini - they are often sold with ‘bird breeding supplies’ such as food and aviaries.
Greenfinches and goldfinches are particularly popular, but linnets, siskins, series, chaffinches and bramblings are also targeted. They end up as ‘pet birds’ in the cages of supposed bird lovers. In every village on Santorini there are large numbers of bird cages in which the illegally caught birds are put on display. Even hotels and restaurants have no qualms about decorating their grounds with the protected birds. It is not known to what extent the birds are also traded on the black market. In other countries where finches are coveted pets - for example Malta and Italy - poachers fetch good prices for the birds.
Santorini is littered with illegal trapping nets, in which thousands of migratory birds are illegally caught every autumn. They are found everywhere and easily visible on the edge of built-up areas, in gardens and vineyards, on beaches and near famous tourist attractions. You can also find nets at the archaeological site of Akrotiri and the lighthouse, as well as near tourist destinations such as the villages of Kamari, Fira and Pyrgos. In the open landscape, the bird-trapping sites are particularly conspicuous and can hardly have gone unnoticed by the authorities. It seems as if the authorities are turning a blind eye to the illegal activity, which - as is unfortunately so often the case - appears to be an ‘old tradition’.
In autumn 2024, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) organised our first major anti-poaching operation on the island. In nine days, the team identified 107 active trapping sites using nets and cage traps. Following our reports to the police and hunting authorities, the first three trappers were caught red-handed in mid-November 2024. Their trapping gear and around 40 finches were released.