Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to prevent the illegal hunting of wildlife on the Akrotiri and Dhekelia British Sovereign Bases Areas in Cyprus.

The Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) Administration has enacted legislation for the protection and management of nature and wildlife[1], which protects wild fauna, such as marine turtles, seals, dolphins and bats. Legislation also exists to protect, and regulate the hunting of, game and wild birds[2], which includes provisions making it an offence to use certain indiscriminate methods such as lime sticks or mist-nests to hunt game or birds. All fenced military areas are protected from poaching, and in the wider territory game reserves and special protected areas no hunting is allowed. Hot spots for illegal hunting of protected species and hunting out of season have been identified and are patrolled on a frequent basis by SBA police and environmental wardens. In addition to normal patrolling activity the SBA Police conduct extensive seasonal Police anti trapping campaigns, joint patrols with Republic of Cyprus Game Wardens, operations to remove paraphernalia used for trapping and educational programmes with local farmers.

The specific threat of illegal trapping of migratory birds is one of the SBA Administration's priorities. Since November 2014, the SBA has removed 61 acres of invasive acacia bushes, which are planted and used by illegal bird trappers at a cost in excess of €400,000. As part of their enforcement activity the SBA Police continues to work closely with non-government bodies such as the RSPB and BirdLife of Cyprus to tackle bird trapping. The SBA Administration has also participated with non-governmental organisations to endorse a Strategic Action Plan to counter illegal bird trapping, which brings various measures together to tackle the problem. This plan is currently being considered by the Republic of Cyprus. In the last two years, the SBA Police have arrested 62 poachers and conducted 55 major bird trapping equipment clearance operations, resulting in the seizure of 1,330 mist-nets and 857 lime sticks.

[1] The Protection and Management of Nature and Wildlife Ordinance 2007.

[2] The Game and Wild Birds Ordinance 2008.