Environmental activists and hunters protested separately outside the House of Representatives, as the Environment Committee took up a proposal to examine the impact of activist organisations’ actions in the environmental sector. Police kept a strong presence at the scene, deploying their specialist Ajax unit.
The Animal Party objected to the initiative, calling it the targeting of environmental organisations and active citizens. The Committee proposal seeks to assess “the impact of the action of certain activist organisations” working in the environmental field. The party protested under the banner “activism is not a crime,” with a main slogan reading: “Don’t target those protecting nature — the target should be poaching, not activists.”
At the same time, dozens of hunters gathered outside parliament to protest harassment they say they face during lawful hunting activity.
The Cyprus Hunting Federation said it has spent recent years reporting and highlighting the serious problem of harassment faced by lawful hunters from individuals or organised groups during hunting activity. The federation stressed it also condemns all illegal hunting activity.
The item had first been proposed last July, in wording that directly targeted environmental organisations and activists, and was withdrawn after the ALMA Movement objected.
When it returned to the committee last week, ALMA said it saw no reason to block the discussion, on the understanding that all involved parties would be called to give their views.
The Animal Party had called on citizens, organisations and activists to join Wednesday’s protest, saying the item had been registered vaguely, without naming any organisation or presenting evidence to justify the scrutiny.
