Illegal hunting penalties to be ramped up

ILLEGAL hunting penalties are to be ramped up — and a pilot area established for training and educating legitimate hunters — under draft legislation due to go before Parliament next week.

Fines are currently set at 300TL but will be increased up to 30,000TL if the Hunting Law is approved.

As pokesman for the the TRNC hunting federation (Avfed) said that it was committed to stamping out illegal hunting and that its wardens, with police, had recently caught a poacher at night near Çamlıbel and an illegal spearfisher in Lapta.

Taşkent nature park head Kemal Basat said that consultations this year between the federation, the state central hunting commission and environmental groups had hammered-out compromises on key issues to achieve more sustainable hunting. “Up to three warden-controlled hunting areas for training would be administered by Avfed, starting with a pilot area stocked with game birds bred for the purpose,” said Mr Basat. The director of Taşkent’s education centre, Dr Nazım Kaşot, already heads a TRNC-wide education scheme in schools and is an adviser to Avfed.

Warden-supervised daily hunting would be on offer in the pilot area, along with an environmental and wildlife education facility, as Taşkent instructors set about raising standards of hunting in the TRNC.

Sixteen hunting days are currently proposed for the upcoming 2020 small hunt season,which targets blackbirds, thrushes, woodcock or snipe, wood pigeon, crows and magpies — but changes could be imposed if the draft law, which has been delayed by government budget talks, is approved soon. The season is currently slated for Sundays and Wednesdays between January 12 and March 4.

Meanwhile, Taşkent nature park is hosting a ‘Winter Fest and Environmental Sustainability Awareness Programme’ in English and Turkish between 3pm and 11pm today, with Cyprus international university organising a bonfire, Christmas carols and drama, African arts and wildlife exploration.