The Cyprus Game and Fauna Service has raised serious concerns after identifying Forestry Department employees as suspects in repeated poaching incidents, including a recent case involving illegally hunted hares in the Paphos district. The agency says the pattern shows some staff members exploiting their positions and access to remote or restricted areas that are difficult for other authorities to monitor.
A pattern of violations
According to the Game and Fauna Service, staff from the Forestry Department have increasingly appeared in case files relating to breaches of the Law on the Protection and Management of Wild Birds and Game. The latest incident, reported in the early hours of Sunday, involved three suspects, two of whom work for the Forestry Department and have allegedly been involved in similar cases in the past.
The Service warns that “some employees of the Forestry Department appear to be taking advantage of the fact that they work both in observation posts and in areas where access by other services is limited or almost impossible”. This, it notes, is a matter of growing concern.
Pursuit and interception of the vehicle
Describing Sunday’s operation, the Service said game wardens had launched a targeted effort to curb hare poaching in the communities of Kouklia and Timi in Paphos district. Around 4.30am, wardens observed a vehicle moving suspiciously through farmland near Timi, with gunshots heard from inside the car.
When officers signalled the driver to stop, he initially refused, triggering a pursuit that ended with the vehicle being immobilised around 4.50am.
Inside were three men from Paphos district, two of whom are known to the Service for previous violations. Two hunting guns were seized during the on-site inspection.
Hidden hares and crop damage
Wardens believe the hunters were not storing the illegally killed hares in the vehicle but were hiding them nearby for later retrieval. At first light, teams conducted an extensive search of the area where the suspects’ vehicle had travelled. Two freshly killed hares were found camouflaged in trees at separate locations. Wardens also recorded significant damage to agricultural crops.
Concern over exclusive access
The Service reiterated its concern about repeated incidents involving Forestry Department personnel. It says their work in remote outposts and restricted-access territories may provide opportunities for unlawful activity that are difficult for enforcement officers to detect.
Recent days have also seen several other reported violations, including hunting in prohibited areas and the deliberate release of hunting dogs into banned zones to chase hares toward hunters waiting on the boundary lines.
The Game and Fauna Service emphasises that these practices undermine conservation efforts and continue to pose operational challenges for wildlife protection authorities.