Otter killed in illegal eel trap on Anglesey

Illegal trap appeal after otter found dead

October 2013. Natural Resources Wales officers are appealing for help to catch a poacher after an otter was found dead in an illegal trap placed on the River Cefni in Llangefni on Anglesey. The otter - a protected species under European law - was discovered by a passer-by in an unlicensed eel trap which had been discarded on the riverbank.

Natural Resources Wales environmental crime officers, working with North Wales Police, are urging anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area to report it confidentially by calling 0800 807060.

Drowned

Officers believe the fully grown otter became entangled in the net and drowned as it entered the trap in search of food.

Eryl Lloyd of Natural Resources Wales said, "This unlicensed trap was illegally placed and there was no guard in place to prevent the otter from getting inside.

"Apart from the callousness of then dumping the trap beside the river, we're keen to trace the perpetrator as this kind of illegal activity has an impact on fish stocks and has a serious effect on wildlife and the local economy."

Otters are an indicator of good water quality with their numbers on the increase in Welsh rivers.

Poaching carries a fine of up to £5,000 and / or six months imprisonment.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/otter-trap.html

Cypriot bird trappers flock to British military base

As many songbirds, including robins, in Britain and northern Europe struggle with the icy blast of Arctic weather, many of their counterparts which have migrated to Cyprus to escape the harsh conditions are being killed by the island’s trappers in greater numbers than any year in the previous decade.


Shockingly, a report by BirdLife Cyprus reveals a large proportion of these birds are trapped at Dhekelia – a UK Sovereign Base Area in the south-east of the island.

Figures released by BirdLife Cyprus, the RSPB’s BirdLife International partner on the island, reveal that an estimated 1.4million songbirds have been trapped illegally this autumn to provide the main ingredient for a local delicacy: ambelopoulia. BirdLife Cyprus has described this level of slaughter as an ‘ecological disaster’
BirdLife Cyprus’s Martin Hellicar says the island has now lost significant ground in the battle against bird trapping. He added: “The picture emerging from this autumn is one of a bird-trapping disaster unseen since we began monitoring almost 10 years ago.”


Indiscriminate
He added: “Bird trapping is an illegal indiscriminate practice that threatens many birds of conservation concern, especially migratory ones.”

Tim Stowe is the RSPB’s International Director. Commenting on the rapidly worsening situation, he said: “The millions of Britons feeding songbirds in their gardens to help them survive this harsh spell will rightly be horrified at the level of slaughter that is happening in an area of Cyprus under direct British control.

“The fact that more than five times the level of netting activity were recorded on the UK’s Sovereign Base Area compared with the Cypriot Republic is a major embarrassment for the Ministry of Defence and the UK Government.

Annual carnage
“We know that some efforts have been made to clear trapping equipment from the Base Area, but this serious organised criminal activity and annual carnage will only be ended by increasing the level of arrests and convictions.”

Although trapping levels are thought to be lower than those experienced in the 1990s, the situation must be addressed urgently. Trappers are reportedly making hundreds of thousands of Euros by selling songbirds to restaurants to be served up as expensive delicacies.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/267412-cypriot-bird-trappers-flock-to-british-military-base