Filenews 31 March 2022 - by Angelos Nikolaou
A common front against poaching was found during yesterday's debate in the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment on the need to re-establish the Ulamos to fight poaching and to take measures to combat the poaching of wild birds, endemic prey and mouflon.
On the same side were the professional hunters and environmentalists who called for as an urgent need the re-establishment of the anti-poaching team of the Mechanized Direct Action Unit (MMAD) that was ingloriously disbanded in 2019, after a successful decade. Ulamos contributed decisively to the efforts to combat all forms of poaching, both the protected and the huntable species of wild birds and other wildlife species, as well as the mouflon.
The Committee met in the presence of representatives of the competent state services and stakeholders, the discussion of the most ex officio issue written by AKEL MPs, in the context of which it was informed about the complaints and complaints expressed regarding the increase of poaching after the dissolution of the Anti-Poaching Ulamos of the Mechanized Direct Action Unit (MMAD) in 2019. The debate will continue at a later meeting of the Committee.
The Director of the Office of the Chief of Police, Marios Agiotis, said that the anti-poaching team was founded in 2007 and until 2019 when it was closed it was operating, in parallel, with the Game Service. The decision to close, he said, is mainly based on the fact that the state has delegated the responsibility to the Game Service. He noted that the Police have not ended engaging in poaching and the leadership has appointed an officer of direct contact with the Game Service. "Where it is judged that our assistance is needed, we provide assistance," he noted.
The deputy commander of the MMAD, Sophocles Ionas, argued that the Police did not leave the issue of poaching in the hands of the Game Service. He noted that the Police are always present whenever necessary especially in cases where criminal elements are involved. He added that Ulamos had 6 people, while today, in anti-poaching operations for which support is requested from the Police, groups of even 30 people of the MMAD or the Headquarters are involved.
The head of the Game Service, Pantelis Hadjigeros, said that the Service has police powers and cooperates with the Police after the dissolution of Ulamos. He added that the Agency is not saying "no" to the re-establishment of Ulamos, noting that if there were other individuals it would be in the interest of cracking down on all forms of poaching. Citing evidence of the cases before and after the dissolution of Ulamos, he said that in 2018, 458 cases were handled by the Thera unit and 35 by the Police. In 2019, 568 cases were handled by the unit and 19 by the Police, while in 2020 565 by the unit and 9 by the Police. In the first three months of 2022, 120 cases were handled by the unit and none by the Police.
The president of the Police Force Branch of the Pancyprian Guild ISOTIA, Nikos Loizidis, argued that "if we want to make incisions in crime, poaching is the elementary and high school of every criminal".
Mr. Loizidis suggested that the Anti-Poaching Ulamos should come under the Department of Crime Fighting because professional poachers are mostly criminal elements. It should, he noted, be appropriately addressed to the phenomenon with the capabilities of an Agency with activities under cover. Further, he asked that all members of Ulamos should not be hunters and that he should deal with all kinds of poaching of wild birds, hares and mouflon. He also suggests that those who served in the Anti-Poaching Ulamos in the past should not be entitled to be reassigned unless the Chief of Police orders otherwise. Furthermore, it notes that with today's technology and equipment it is necessary that the cooperation with NGOs, the Game Fund, the SBA (Police of the Bases) and the United Nations (Dead Zone) be established under special protocols and guidelines regarding information and incidents in the field for better and more effective treatment of the specific phenomenon of poaching, as well as compliance with the Laws of the Republic of Cyprus.
On behalf of the Cyprus Police Association, Andreas Loukas expressed his opposition to the re-establishment of Ulamos, noting that there is understaffing in the Police and they cannot withstand additional workload.
The Cyprus Federation of Hunting and Wildlife Conservation, after stating that it does not reduce the role of the Game Service in combating poaching, stressed that the hunters' effort is to re-establish Ulamos. He added that the members of Thera should be supported in the poaching of endemic and mouflon. He called the poachers common criminals, noting that they exhibit delinquent behavior. Thousands of hunters are emitting a cry of despair, he added, who see the game dwindling every day. He stressed that only Ulamos can stand in the way and block the way to poaching.
Proposal for an Environmental Inspection Branch
The Commissioner for the Environment, Klelia Vassiliou, believes that the re-establishment of the Anti-Poaching Ulamos will not help as much as the reinforcement of all Environmental Inspectors with police duties and tools at their disposal to enforce environmental legislation. In addition to poaching, he noted, a series of environmental crimes are recorded that are directly or indirectly related to the issue – i.e. the insult of nature issues and for which the officers of the Services who bear the responsibility and competence, should be strengthened in order to be able to impose there and where there is a crime throughout the range of Environmental Law. The Commissioner for the Environment proposes that the new Directorate-General for the Environment should include such a Branch of Environmental Inspection which covers the whole range of Environmental Legislation and which belongs to services other than the Police.
The Federation of Environmental Organizations of Cyprus (OPOK) was in favour of the re-establishment of the Anti-Poaching Unit of the Cyprus Police and recommended to the Environment Committee that it make all the necessary representations to the Ministry of Justice and Public Order. On behalf of OPOK, Kleitos Papastylianou said that the dissolution of the Anti-Poaching Unit in 2019 has created an unfulfilled gap in the efforts to combat all forms of poaching in the Republic of Cyprus. At the same time, it has brought about a huge operational workload in the Game and Fauna Service of the Ministry of Interior, which is now called upon to fulfil its mission, responsibilities and duties, without any substantial operational support.
On behalf of the Terra Cypria Foundation, Koula Michael argued that it was a mistake from the beginning to close Ulamos and asked for it to be re-established. The re-establishment of Ulamos was requested on behalf of BirdLife Cyprus, Tassos Sialis.
Unfulfilled gap
The Federation of Environmental Organizations of Cyprus (OPOK) was in favour of the re-establishment of the Anti-Poaching Unit of the Cyprus Police and recommended to the Environment Committee that it make all the necessary representations to the Ministry of Justice and Public Order. On behalf of OPOK, Kleitos Papastylianou said that the dissolution of the Anti-Poaching Unit in 2019 has created an unfulfilled gap in the efforts to combat all forms of poaching in the Republic of Cyprus. At the same time, it has brought about a huge operational workload in the Game and Fauna Service of the Ministry of Interior, which is now called upon to fulfil its mission, responsibilities and duties, without any substantial operational support.
On behalf of the Terra Cypria Foundation, Koula Michael argued that it was a mistake from the beginning to close Ulamos and asked for it to be re-established. The re-establishment of Ulamos was requested on behalf of BirdLife Cyprus, Tassos Sialis.
