An average of 450 cases of poaching are reported each year, said the Head of the Hunting and Wildlife Service, Pantelis Hatzigerou, during a session of the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, noting, however, that while 4–5 professional poachers are charged, they are not being given deterrent penalties. He also said that the Service’s cooperation with environmental organizations is excellent.  

The Committee discussed, on its own initiative, the activities of specific activist organizations and activists working in the environmental sector, following a motion by ELAM MPs, Linos Papagiannis and Linos Ioannis Hatzigeorgiou.

A representative of the Legal Service stated before the Committee that a bill would be introduced in the first half of 2027 that would link environmental crime to its economic aspect and that it will provide for stricter penalties for legal entities and individuals. Mr. Hatzigerou also noted that a bill is being drafted to protect legal hunting from any harassment, which would prohibit the use of drones during hunting. 

“The problem in the past was the actions of certain activist organizations that believed they had the right to interfere with the work of the authorities,” noted Mr. Hatzigerou, clarifying that “such incidents now occur to a lesser extent.”

All Members of Parliament called for the eradication of illegality, regardless of its source, though the MPs from ELAM and AKEL disagreed within the Committee, with AKEL’s Parliamentary Spokesperson Giorgos Loukaidis speaking of the “targeting” of activists, while Mr. Papagiannis, for his part, referred to police officers who had been “terrorized” by a specific activist organization.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Environment Committee, Linos Papagiannis, said that “there are testimonies and complaints that prove” that a specific activist organization active in the environmental sector “commits violations of the Penal Code every week”. 

“We have submitted evidence to the Ministry of Justice proving that this organization has mapped Cyprus and has ties to the pseudo-state,” he said, adding that over the past 2.5 years “unacceptable incidents have occurred.”

For his part, Mr. Hatzigeorgiou asked for an update on the progress of the police investigations into the complaints currently before them.

DIKO President Nikolas Papadopoulos noted that Cyprus has been a party to the Aarhus Convention since 2003. Environmental organizations and activists should not be criminalized, he emphasized, while clarifying that no one is above the law.

The President of the Alma Movement, Odysseas Michaelides, said it must be clarified whether there are cases in which activists expose misconduct by the authorities in the fight against poaching.

AKEL’s Parliamentary Spokesperson, Giorgos Loukaidis, said that environmental organizations are being targeted by the inclusion of this issue on the Environment Committee’s agenda. “Is this what democracy is—putting people on trial and denying them the right to defend themselves?” he asked. 

“How many convictions are there for harassment against lawful hunters?” he asked. “We must protect the law and its enforcement. We will not turn the law on its head to defend lawbreakers,” he pointed out.

Responding to Mr. Loukaidis, Mr. Papagiannis said that police officers are “terrified” by the actions of this particular organization, which is not based in Cyprus. He also asked how many complaints had been filed with the Game and Wildlife Service following tips from that organization regarding resident and migratory game. 

In response to Mr. Papagiannis, Mr. Loukaidis stated that the threats received by gamekeepers “come from criminal elements who have set themselves up to exploit the enormous profits they make from illegal activities.” 

AKEL MP Nikos Kettiros requested that the issue of poaching be examined at the Committee’s next meeting.

Litsa Drousiotou, a member of Parliament from the Alma Movement, said that Parliament does not take the place of the authorities. “All parties involved must be heard. We will not silence either the activists or the legal hunters,” she emphasized. In remarks made after the session, she stated that “Parliament is not a court,” stressing that “we do not wish to question the legitimate environmental and activist organizations that act for the good of the environment and our country.”

“At the same time, however, we want to condemn any illegal activity, whether it comes from organizations or from hunters,” she noted.

ELAM MP Sotiris Ioannou stated that an effort is being made to shift the discussion toward poaching. Activists have set up camps in various areas and are harassing hunters, he added. 

Responding to a question from Mr. Ioannou about whether they conduct coordinated operations with activist organizations, Deputy Police Chief Ioannis Georgiou, said that the police have never conducted coordinated operations with environmental organizations, but only with the Game and Wildlife Service.

Yiannis Laouris, a member of parliament for Direct Democracy, said that NGOs have an important role to play, while expressing regret that Cyprus faces serious environmental problems. If criminal offenses are committed, they must be punished, he noted.

Mr. Hatzigerou said that a distinction must be made between legal hunting and poaching. “We have excellent cooperation with environmental organizations,” he said, adding that “we are fighting hard” to preserve the environment.

“The problem in the past was the actions of certain activist organizations that believed they had the right to interfere with the work of the authorities,” he noted, clarifying that “this now happens to a lesser extent.” 

At the same time, Mr. Hatzigerou said that the government has drafted a bill to protect lawful hunting from any harassment, which prohibits the use of drones during hunting. 

“We do not conduct coordinated operations with any organization other than the police,” he emphasized, adding that “we receive telephone complaints, which we investigate.” 

In one instance, a complaint was filed against activists, but the Legal Service ruled that the case should not proceed, noted the Head of the Game Warden Service “We receive complaints every day; the Service’s phones never stop ringing,” he emphasized. 

“Every year we file an average of 450 cases,” said Mr. Hatzigerou, pointing out that, while 4–5 professional poachers are reported, they are not, however, given deterrent penalties. 

Information from citizens is welcome, but we do not want them to interfere with our work, because things can get out of hand, he said, citing the circumstances surrounding the death of his predecessor, Savvas Savvas, as an example.

DISY MP Michalis Kounounis asked the Game and Fisheries Service if there is a legislative loophole that requires the assistance of the House of Representatives to address. In remarks made after the session, he noted that poaching and the illegal trapping of wild birds must be dealt with decisively by the competent authorities, while clarifying that “no citizen or organization can replace the police or the Game and Fisheries Service and take the law into their own hands.”

“Our position is clear: no immunity for poachers, nor for activists who break the law. What we need is a clear framework that simultaneously protects the lawful practice of hunting, lawful environmental action, and the effective enforcement of the law for everyone,” Mr. Kounounis pointed out.

DISY MP Andreas Konstantinou asked whether the Game and Fisheries Service is understaffed.

AKEL Member of Parliament Argentoula Ioannou asked how many complaints from activists, supported by drone footage, had been filed with the police.

Andreas Tziakouris, a police spokesperson, stated that deterrent penalties are not being imposed on professional poachers.

AKEL’s Parliamentary Spokesperson, Giorgos Loukaidis, said it is “tragic for Parliament” that the debate is focused on targeting those who denounce illegal activities.

The spokesperson for the Legal Service, Lina Hatzithanassou, said that a bill will be introduced linking environmental crimes to their economic implications, adding that stricter penalties are coming for both legal entities and individuals. The harmonization bill will be presented to the House of Representatives in the first half of 2027, she noted.

At the end of the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment, ELAM MP Linos Papagiannis, stated that the Committee will decide when its next meeting on the matter will take place.

Speaking after the Committee meeting concluded, Mr. Papagiannis stated that “if we’re talking about six or seven specific human traffickers—whether or not they have ties to the underworld—that doesn’t concern me—I demand that state authorities carry out the duties they’ve been mandated to perform.”

“And those who accuse us today and, for some reason, turn a deaf ear to the hundreds of complaints, will tell us that we went in looking for a haircut and came out shorn,” he said. “We will continue this effort. We believe we are in the right, and, fortunately, there are many people who can confirm what we are saying,” he added.

Mr. Hatzigeorgiou said that at the meeting, “the relevant government agencies admitted or confirmed that a specific environmental organization in Cyprus today is committing” various offenses. Specifically, he noted that the organization in question is trespassing on private property, harassing anyone who visits nature, attempting to supplant the competent authorities, harasses lawful hunters, and flies drones illegally.

“What needs to be corrected is the way in which deterrent penalties are imposed on those who actually poach and, at the same time, how to stop the activists who are acting unlawfully,” he emphasized.

In his own remarks, Mr. Loukaidis stated that “ELAM representatives went in for a trim and came out with a full haircut,” noting that “representatives of the Police and the Game and Fisheries Service confirmed that the only pending complaints against environmental organizations and activists come from the poachers themselves.”

“The issue we discussed has nothing to do with the overwhelming majority of hunters,” he pointed out, emphasizing that “Both the targeting of environmental organizations and the attempt to portray those who provide valuable information to the competent authorities and report illegal activities as a problem have failed.”

DIKO MP Chrysanthos Savvides stated that “the key issue is for even the courts to take a tougher stance against these 4–5 (poachers), who are arrested on a regular basis.”

“Of course, we accept any information, whether it comes from activists or anyone else, but they, too, must operate entirely within the bounds of the law,” he emphasized.

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Source: CNA