Dear friends,

Even though the summer rolls on, the autumn migration of our migratory birds has already begun. Common swifts have already began to leave their Central European breeding grounds and many northern waders are also on their way to Africa. Common and green sandpipers, dunlin and redshank have already began to arrive on the shores on the Mediterranean.

Wader Protection Campaign in Malta.

Waders are a sought-after targets of many Maltese bird trappers. With huge trapping installations, they illegally lure the birds returning south from Scandinavia - the birds frequently end up in the cooking pot or locked up and confined living in live collections. This weekend, on Malta, marked the beginning of the first CABS bird protection camp of the second half of the year. During the next weeks, our members will search for active trapping sites and stop them with police support. In addition to aerial surveys, our teams will be conducting night patrols to identify sites using illegal electronic callers, which play bird calls all over the island. Wader trapping has markedly declined in the last two years as a result of our field operations.

Are the tides turning on finch trapping in Malta?

In an opinion regarding the ongoing proceedings against Malta, Eleanor Sharpston, the Attorney General of the European Court of Justice, said last week, that catching the finches in the island state is a clear violation of the EU Birds Directive. For years, Malta has allowed the capture of greenfinches, goldfinches, chaffinches siskins, linnets and hawfinches with nets. Tens of thousands of birds are trapped and caged in the living rooms of the so called bird lovers. The government is using the loophole of "preserving tradition", with which derogations to the prohibition are made possible. The EU-initiated lawsuit against Malta has been running since 2015, and the government in Valletta has tried all kinds of tricks to defend its stance. However, it is now likely that Malta will be condemned. However, the end of the bird trapping is yet to be seen!

CABS at the Birdfair 2017

The British Birdwatching Fair has been held in Rutland Water for more than 20 years and attracts up to 20,000 visitors annually. This year's event will take place from 18 to 20 August and for the first time, CABS and our work will be presented. Our focus will be our ongoing fight in Cyprus. Visitors are invited to find out about this at our stand. We also have the following events planned:
- 18 August 12:30 Lecture Marquee: Lecture "Is Cyprus the most dangerous country in Europe for migration birds" by CABS Senior Operations Officer Andrea Rutigliano.
- 19 August 11:00 In the Events Marquee: Talk about "Tales from the frontline of conservation" with Andrea Rutigliano and TV host Chris Packham.
- 19 August 13:30 to 14:00, Chris Packham will sign his Autobiography "Fingers in the Sparkle Jar" at our booth (Marquee 1, Stand 38). (The book can be purchased on site).

We are looking forward to greeting many visitors and talking about our successful, yet relentless fight against the song bird massacre in Cyprus at the Bird Fair 2017.   

All the best from Bonn

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