A bird protection group has said it is concerned that the shooting of two of its volunteers by a hunter near Ayia Napa on Wednesday was deliberate, because the group had greeted the man shortly before he fired.
Police have arrested a 35-year-old hunter, from whom initial inquiries indicate the shot appears to have come. He was arrested on a court warrant on Wednesday evening and is being held for questioning. The Famagusta CID is investigating.
In a statement on Thursday, the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) said three of its volunteers and two Game and Fauna Service wardens were in an area bordering the Cape Greco National Park at about 7am on Wednesday. Shortly beforehand, according to CABS, the wardens had been alerted by the group’s team, confiscated an illegal electronic bird caller in the same area and reported a hunter for using it.
CABS spokesperson Axel Hirschfeld said that on their way back to their cars, the group met another hunter sitting on a chair nearby and wished him good morning. He said the man responded with a gesture and soon afterwards fired the shot that hit the volunteers.
CABS said the sequence of events “raises concerns that this was not an accident but a deliberate act”, since everyone present had passed directly in front of the man and greeted him.
The two volunteers, both from France, were taken to Famagusta General Hospital in Paralimni. CABS described their injuries as minor and said doctors had recorded injuries to the head and body of one man and to the arms of the other. Police said one man had an abrasion to the head and the other a superficial wound to the right shoulder.
CABS called on the authorities to investigate the incident thoroughly, saying several eyewitnesses, including the two game wardens, could confirm what happened.
The group also warned against any further escalation and urged the hunting community to stop what it called unfounded hostility towards conservationists and simply obey the law. Hirschfeld said reporting hunting offences was not a provocation but a legitimate way to end impunity, which every law-abiding hunter should welcome and support rather than target.
