Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to maintain the reduction in the number of wild birds illegally trapped on the Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus.

The Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) Administration continues to make significant efforts to prevent the trapping and killing of wild birds in the Sovereign Base Areas of Cyprus, using increased enforcement and denial of trapping opportunities. These were recently recognised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife Cyprus, with an estimated 70% reduction in bird trapping in the SBA last year and a significant decrease in bird deaths from 880,000 in 2016 to 121,000 in 2018. The SBA Police continues to seek improved evidence collection using enhanced surveillance equipment, resulting in greater fixed penalty notices or court sentences. The programme of seizing bird trapping equipment continues, as will the extensive patrolling by the SBA Police during the migratory seasons. The SBA Administration will remove piping laid by bird trappers to illegally irrigate invasive acacia trees used to attract birds. To-date, approximately 89 kilometres of irrigation piping within the Cape Pyla range area in the Dhekelia SBA has been removed, which has resulted in significant die-back of acacia trees. Subject to assessments on safety and security, acacia trees will also continue to be removed from the Special Areas of Conservation in the SBA. The SBA Administration is also developing a management plan for Cape Pyla, which will examine the opportunities to improve habitat management for the migratory birds and explore any eco-tourism initiatives that might arise. All opportunities will be taken to enhance the excellent cooperation between the SBA Administration, the RSPB, BirdLife Cyprus and other NGOs involved in preventing illegal bird trapping.