A well-organised group is poaching hares almost every night around Androlykou, using off-road vehicles and powerful spotlights, the head of the Game and Fauna Service, Pantelis Hadjigeros, told parliament’s Environment Committee on Wednesday.
The poachers take advantage of the darkness, the isolation and the rugged terrain around the village, the committee heard. According to the service, the spotlights blind the hares and freeze them in place, leaving them completely defenceless, and the poachers then trap them and sell them alive. The service described spotlighting as one of the most destructive methods and one that is strictly banned.
Game wardens have stepped up night patrols in Paphos district, but the poachers sometimes manage to get away, the service said. When they are found, they are reported.
Hadjigeros said poachers who are reported are given out-of-court fines by the prosecuting authorities, and their cases end up in court. The courts then hear the cases together and in the end replace the fine with a much lower penalty, leaving poachers who make thousands of euros paying instalments of 50 euros a month, he said.
He called for tougher penalties, saying anyone reported for poaching should lose the right to own a hunting gun, or even their driving licence. Out-of-court fines do not deter poachers, however high they are, he said, arguing that the answer lies in freezing poachers’ assets.
The committee was continuing its discussion of how the Anti-Poaching Squad operates, how it can be strengthened and what measures are needed to prevent and crack down on poaching. It was also discussing a separate item on the impact of certain environmental activist groups and whether measures are needed to deal with it.
