Cyprus faced severe traffic disruption on Sunday as hunters blocked a major highway for the second consecutive week, demanding expanded access to environmentally protected areas for dog training activities.
The Movement of Cypriot United Hunters (KEKK) closed all four lanes of the Nicosia-Limassol highway near Skarinou around midday, causing gridlock in both directions and affecting traffic to and from Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca.
The road closure, which lasted nearly two and a half hours, triggered anger from motorists and local restaurant owners who reported last-minute cancellations as customers were unable to reach their destinations.
The blockade ended after President Christodoulides personally intervened with a phone call to KEKK president Nicolas Prodromou, arranging a meeting with a five-member delegation at the Presidential Palace on Monday.
Earlier, protesters had warned they would not reopen the highway without speaking to President Christodoulides and threatened to escalate their actions. KEKK had supported Christodoulides during his election campaign and secured 4,603 votes in the recent European elections and 11,712 votes in previous parliamentary elections.
The hunters’ demands focus primarily on year-round access to areas for training hunting dogs, including environmentally sensitive regions. According to information provided to Phileleftheros by the Ministry of Interior, KEKK is seeking access to environmentally sensitive areas between 1 March and 15 July, which is considered a critical nesting and breeding period for wildlife.
During this four-month peak period, hunting dog training areas are restricted compared to other times of the year. The Interior Ministry intends to remove Natura 2000 network areas and other environmentally sensitive regions from permitted zones, though training areas have been significantly increased for the remaining eight months.
The ministry cited several reasons for the restrictions, including serious disruption to the breeding period of game and other Cypriot fauna species, observations from the European Commission to adhere strictly to relevant EU regulations to avoid fines, and the need to protect wildlife from poachers.
The Game and Fauna Service (GFS) had initially decided, in cooperation with the Cyprus Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Federation, not to permit hunting dog training during the nesting and breeding period. However, it later yielded to pressure and decided to grant dozens of training areas, even within protected Natura 2000 sites, in violation of EU directives and harmonising legislation of the Republic of Cyprus on wild bird conservation.
According to sources from the Interior Ministry, the GFS is now seriously considering removing Natura 2000 areas from permitted zones after recognising its mistake. Efforts are being made to add new areas, to be suggested by the Cyprus Hunting Federation and agreed with the GFS. If this arrangement does not proceed, instructions will be given to remove all areas.
During Sunday’s protest, some hunters set up barbecues, tables and chairs on the highway and lit charcoal to grill meat. MP Nikos Tornaritis, chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee stated on social media that the issue would be discussed immediately in parliament, declaring that “tolerance towards lawlessness cannot continue.”
“When on Sunday afternoon some ‘hunters’ close the Nicosia-Limassol highway to set up barbecues and tables, they deprive thousands of our fellow citizens of enjoying a family outing,” Tornaritis noted, adding that “this behaviour is provocatively anti-social and unacceptable. Even more worrying, however, is the absence of the Police, who should have ensured legality and free movement for all.”
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