Description:

Each winter thousands of British robins migrate to warmer climates and arrive on the island of Cyprus. Where the illegal practice of trapping and eating songbirds is still carried out.
 

Lured with false birdsong into netted thickets, or caught on sticks dipped into natural glue, they are among a million songbirds slaughtered and sold to restaurants as part of an illegal industry.

Conservationists say that the practice had made a significant comeback in the past 3 years and use of fine “mist” nets to trap the birds has risen by 35% this autumn.
 

In medieval times the birds were considered necessary sustenance when meat was hard to get and expensive in Cyprus. However in recent years they have become a gourmet delicacy, served as a dish called ambelopoulia.
 
The poachers are particularly prolific on the British military base at Dhekelia on the eastern coast of Cyprus.
 

The British bases say that they are fighting a war on the illegal industry. In august they launched “Operation Freedom”, a campaign that aims to stop the songbird trappers and free birds trapped in nets or glued to “lime” sticks.
 

The Cypriot authorities insist they are doing everything possible to fight the songbird trade, saying that they have prosecuted more than 1,000 offenders in the last 5 years.
 

The best way to curtail this illegal and cruel practice is for customers to stop purchasing this illegal delicacy in restaurants.
  

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