Filenews 19 January 2022
A dead flamingo was found on Monday night, inside the protected area in Paralimni Lake, the Federation of Environmental Organizations of Cyprus said in a statement. After the incident, OPOK asks for a ban on hunting in the area and for the shooting range to be shut down. At the same time, OPOK calls for a ban on the use and disposal of lead from buckshot, in and near the only natural wetland in the Famagusta District.
The area of Paralimni Lake is protected and belongs to the Natura 2000 Network Special Conservation Area (SSSR) and a Special Protection Area (SPA).
After X-rays carried out by a private veterinarian, the death of the flamingos appears to be due to the consumption of a large amount of lead from buckshot, which were detected in the stomach and most likely led to its poisoning, the statement added.
At the same time, shots of lead were also found on the body of the dead flamingos, due to a shot that appears to have been fired, but no vital organs were affected. OPOK announced that the dead flamingos has been handed over to the Game and Fauna Service, as the competent authority for the protection and management of wild birds, which is expected to carry out official analyses and tests for the final determination of the cause of killing flamingos.
According to the Management Plan of Paralimni Lake Zep, of the Game and Fauna Service (2016), 71% of the area is a prohibited hunting area. In the remaining areas hunting is allowed only in November and December. In the same it is stated that: "the exercise of hunting activity and the human presence causes nuisance to the species, which find shelter in the area of SPA. At the same time, this activity favours and allows hunters to enter with their vehicles into the Lake basin, which results in the degradation of habitats and the nuisance of species.
Within the boundaries of the area, part of the shooting range of the Famagusta District Shooting Organization falls, while its firing range is directed towards the lake basin, resulting in the pellets ending up within spas. "To prevent the spread of the beads, embankments have been created within the firing range, but it seems that this measure is not fully effective." The announcement states that the same pressures and threats are also recognized in the "Management Plan of the SAC Lake Paralimni", which was published by the Department of Environment (2011).
The "Management Plan OF SPA Paralimni Lake" proposes the "stricter control of the implementation of the prohibition of the use of cartridges with lead buckshot in the AREA OF ZEP" and the "revision of the operation of the shooting range".
For this reason, it is proposed, in the first phase, to cover the firing range of the shooting range with a special membrane, which will hold the lead pellets, in order to avoid further pollution of the soil. After finding a suitable area in an area outside the SPA, to which the shooting range will be transferred, the shooting range will be terminated within the SPA area and the existing area of the shooting range should be restored with emphasis on the existing firing range".
It is noted that flamingos are included in the species of avifauna that are also protected by the Decree of 2015 on the Protection and Management of Nature and Wildlife (Priority Measures for the Special Conservation Zone of Paralimni Lake).
"The urgent need for an immediate end to hunting, the operation of a shooting range, as well as the use and disposal of lead from shots in and near Paralimni Lake also arises from the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2021/57 of the European Commission, regarding lead in shots in or near wetlands, which was voted by the European Parliament and published in the Official Journal of the European Union, on 26.01.2021", notes OPOK.
Also based on the Decree of the Minister of Interior, which was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic, on 25.05.2007, pursuant to article 58(2) of the Protection and Management of Wild Birds and Game Law of 2003 to 2006 (RN 483/2007), the hunting and use of cartridges with lead pellets within a radius of 300 meters from the boundaries of wetlands and water barriers is prohibited.
Based on the above, OPOK requests the immediate issuance of the necessary Protection and Management Decrees of the Natura 2000 SDA network area and Paralimni Lake SPA, based on article 15 of the Nature and Wildlife Protection and Management Law of 2003 to 2015, as well as article 7(6) of the Protection and Management of Wild Birds and Game Law of 2003 to 2020. "These Protection and Management Decrees should explicitly prohibit the hunting, operation of a shooting range, as well as the use and disposal of lead from shots, in and near the only natural wetland of the Famagusta district."
The Republic of Cyprus is already facing an existing infringement procedure, under which the European Commission has sent a letter of formal notice to the Cypriot authorities on 09.06.2021, due to the failure to issue the necessary Protection and Management Decrees for the Natura 2000 Network areas, OPOK reports. It adds that, in the context of a previous infringement procedure, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled against the Republic of Cyprus for not including Paralimni Lake in the Natura 2000 Network within the prescribed period and the inadequate protection regime for Cypriot waterfowl (Natrix natrix cypriaca).
