Paphos Life

BirdLife Cyprus has taken aim at an Easter custom specific to the village of Omodhos that the organisation says harms birds that are not legitimate game species....

Read the article and chat about it below...

Muppets springs to mind!


Shane

For historical reasons, many of the islands of the Mediterranean hunt song birds - probably due to historical food reasons from many decades and centuries ago. Today, it's more a tradition condemned by most. Malta seems to the worst offender, with netting still permitted.

These islands account for many millions of songbird deaths every year.

In some ways, it's hard to condemn practices that have historical roots. Like the sea-bird hunters of the Hebrides, brought to life in the excellent Peter May books, around a thriller. However, most of these practices aren't based on economic or sustenance issues any more.

Similar to Korea and China now banning the eating of Cats and Dogs, some practices repulse other cultures....

The Middle East still treats many animals badly and Cyprus is influenced by that, with the treatment of hunting dogs in particular falling into that. Bit by bit, awareness comes, particularly in more Westernised cultures like Cyprus, but the Middle East has a long, long way to go.

Think Cyprus needs to get Chris Packham in....

Springwatch's Chris Packham cleared of Malta assault charge
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-39652901

All for highlighting bird trapping in Malta!

Mind you, chickens and other animals in battery farms don't have much of a life, so Westernised cultures aren't exactly innocent.

And who can forget what the French elite seem to like doing to the little Ortolan?

I don't understand why people would want to kill songbirds though. I can understand if food was scarce, but you would have to be pretty desperate in order to rely on songbirds as a source of nourishment.

The ortolan is a new one on me. Certainly, the battery farms in the U.K. Are nothing to be proud of. With the grip,Tesco and the like have on produce, we now have battery cow sheds, where they never see a blade of grass, nor walk around.