Dear Friends and Supporters,

Now our missions in the Mediterranean are getting going - here's a quick overview of the latest news from CABS:

Lebanon: Two new videos

Our current operation in Lebanon, which has been ongoing since last week, has been a complete success so far: our team has caused a stir - so far three poachers have been caught in the illegal spring hunt. The fact that controls are being enforced at all and the police are taking action against the hunters is tremendous. In a supermarket we have discovered hundreds of frozen Blackcaps for sale. Furthermore our team documented a swallow massacre along the coast south of Beirut. We´ve published two recent videos:

Frozen Blackcaps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v3LphBWP94
Swallow massacre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Cz5xFYbgjM4

Cyprus camp starts today

Although CABS winter operations have just recently ended, the big spring camp starts up today. By the end of the migration season in mid-May, several teams will be deployed each day in the south-east of the Mediterranean to search for limesticks and nets. We expect 25 nature lovers and conservationists from all over Europe in the campaign, most come from Italy, Great Britain and Germany.

Italy: Two small operations completed

In recent days in Brescia, CABS teams have found three trapping sites with nets and reported them to the police, two poachers were convicted. On the Mediterranean island of Ponza, following a report from CABS on Monday, the police grabbed a man with snap traps and several freshly caught (living) finches were also found. In the nature reserve Cariadeghe near Brescia, a CABS team happened across a pond whilst searching for nets in which unknown persons had recently disposed gallons of engine oil. Incredibly, they were able to save more than 6,000 toads, frogs and newts!

Malta: 13 poachers caught already.

Our Bird Protection Camp against the finch trapping on Malta has also been very successful: After we conducted an aerial survey and mapped over 150 active trapping sites, the police has now caught and arrested 13 poachers red-handed! At first, the officials refused to secure the live decoys. After an official  complaint from CABS to the Wild Bird Regulation Unit, since yesterday live birds are now also being seized. We will continue to monitor the bird trapping until after Easter when their “season” ends and our teams will shift focus onto monitoring the passage of birds of prey and storks.

Migration across the channel!?

In May 2018, Andy Short one of our longstanding and dedicated volunteers from the UK, will attempt to solo paddleboard 36km across the English Channel! All in the name of vital fundraising to support our 11 Bird Protection Camps this spring. Andy has set his Crowdfunding target at £10,000 via his JustGiving page. You can donate from as little as £2, but any amount would be greatly appreciated: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/andyshortpaddleforbirdprotection

We estimate that the operations this spring will cost around €50,000 (£45,000) for travel costs, rental cars, accommodation, equipment and other logistics. Each and every donation enables us to get our volunteers on the ground in various poaching hotspot areas such as Malta, Italy and Cyprus.

Have a wonderful Easter Break and best wishes from the CABS team!

Alexander Heyd


--
Alexander Heyd
(Geschäftsführer/Managing Director)

Komitee gegen den Vogelmord e.V.
Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS)
Bundesgeschäftsstelle
An der Ziegelei 8, 53127 Bonn, Germany

Tel.: +49 228 66 55 21
Fax : +49 228 66 52 80
Email: komitee@komitee.de

Internet: www.komitee.de
Facebook (deutsch): www.facebook.com/Komitee.CABS
Facebook (english): www.facebook.com/CABS2011