Two men charged with Cyprus falcon massacre:
Two men have been charged in connection with the October 5 massacre of 52 Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus in the Phasouri area of Cypus, within the Akrotiri British Sovereign Base Area (SBA). The accused, from the Limassol area, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a penalty of up to three years imprisonment or a fine of £10,000 (€17,000), or both. The court set the first hearing for the trial for January 8. The shocking massacre of the migrating falcons – the worst incident of bird of prey killing ever reported in Cyprus – made headlines across Europe after BirdLife Cyprus released shocking pictures of the gunned down birds. The shot falcons – a species of global conservation concern – appear to have been hit for target practice. The two suspects, arrested on October 12th following a swift SBA Police investigation, appeared before an SBA court at Episkopi on Tuesday and were charged with deliberate killing of protected birds and unlawful possession of shotguns in a ‘no hunting’ area.
I’m psyched to be moving to Cyprus, as it is a beautiful country. But this just goes to show the evil side to this country, and it’s tradition rape of wild birds.
For another example, read about the lucrative slaughter of songbirds, and the ongoing illegal bird trapping.
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