Before dawn in Cyprus, the air rings with birdsong – but it is not real. Hidden in the undergrowth of bushes across the mediterranean island are electronic lures which broadcast a manufactured chorus.
The pieces of technology mimic the calls of migrating songbirds and draw the unsuspecting creatures down into carefully placed death contraptions each day. Around 450,000 songbirds, including some journeying to Africa from the UK, are slaughtered each year when they become ensnared in fine-mesh nets or stuck to branches smeared with glue.
Thrushes, wagtails, owls, wheatears, hoopoes and falcons have all been found stuck in the traps. Illegal hunters also take aim at the skies by firing shots at species like buzzards and bee-eaters.
Naturalist Chris Packham and his zoologist stepdaughter Megan McCubbin blame the vanishing dawn chorus on a delicacy called ambelopoulia. The traditional dish, made from pickled or grilled songbirds, has been banned for decades but a lack of enforcement and prosecutions means Cyprus remains an industrialised killing ground.
The sale, possession and preparation of ambelopoulia has been illegal in the country since 1974 but some restaurants continue to serve it covertly under a bed of lettuce, while other locals eat it in the privacy of their homes.
Holding two recently killed bee-eaters after ambushing hunters at dusk, Mr Packham said: “I’m very angry indeed and at the same time very sad. These are one of the most cherished birds in Europe. They’re really flamboyant. Occasionally they come to the UK to breed. They cause enormous excitement. People travel from all over the UK to see them. It’s something that we really celebrate. They’re a pin-up in the bird world. There’s no doubt about that.
“We’ve come out here and we’ve found the severed head of one, a wing that has ripped off maybe an hour before we arrived and then we found these two carcasses of bee-eaters which have been slaughtered and shot.”
He added: “If you’re coming to Cyprus, these are the two most grisly souvenirs you could possibly end up with.”
Standing in the middle of a known trapping hotspot, Mr Packham pointed to a sign beside him that read: “Wildlife conservation area. Hunting is prohibited.”
He continued: “It’s a joke. There isn’t adequate protection here or adequate enforcement. Millions of people all around Europe love birds and do everything that they can to protect them. We need to make sure they know that this insane slaughter is taking place on this island, and put pressure on politicians to do something about it because ultimately that’s what it comes down to – political will.”
Mr Packham and Ms McCubbin also criticised British authorities in Cyprus for failing to effectively tackle the poaching of songbirds on British military territory.
The number of songbirds illegally killed in the Sovereign Base Area (SBA) has reduced from previous highs because of local wildlife campaigners’ work with police in the SBA.
Ms McCubbin said: “The British Government has a responsibility here to tackle this illegal wildlife trade. We, in the UK, love our birds more than anything. And on British territory in Cyprus, loads are being slaughtered. They have gone and done some actions to curb this and when they have, it’s worked very effectively. But clearly trapping is still going on on our land. They must act immediately and with caution to not only protect British activists fighting to stop this but to protect our birds which the world shares.”
Andrea Rutigliano, of the Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS), is among the activists from the group who puts his life at risk to free birds from their death traps.
He said: “We’ve faced a big deal of violence, unfortunately, especially back in 2001 when we first started campaigning here. We couldn’t even drive around during the day. There would be people tailing us. Once they tried to shoot me the second time they threw rocks from the top of a hill aiming at us. They’ve shot the cars more times. I was punched by a trapper. I had my ear membrane torn once. Other team members have also suffered some big, big physical damage. All the hospitals on the island know us.”
One rescue mission saw Mr Packham and Ms McCubbin join campaigners in freeing two blackcaps, a lesser whitethroat and a Sardinian warbler from limestick traps, made from Syrian Plum tree fruit.
The small birds thrashed helplessly until the team gently used water, and even saliva, to gently peel their torn feathers and let their weakened bodies free.
The disaster behind the dish
Around half a million songbirds are illegally killed in Cyprus every year for a delicacy known as Ambelopoulia.
The animals, usually robins or blackcaps, are caught in mist nets or lime sticks, which are branches coated in an adhesive.
They are picked or boiled for the dish which is illegally sold in some Cypriot restaurants at a cost of up to six euros per bird.
Although the trapping birds is illegal under Cypriot and EU law, the killing continues.
Restaurants have also been banned from serving ambelopoulia since 1974 but lax enforcement of conservation law means that there is little chance of legal repercussions.
In 2021, the Cypriot government lowered the fine for killing certain protected species from €2,000 to €200 for the murder of up to 50 birds on a list of 14 protected non-game species
Italy and Malta are also hot beds for birdsong poaching.
The French have also been known to eat Ortolan bunting, a tiny songbird that spends summers across Western Europe and winters in Africa.
France has banned the trapping and consumption of the bird, which was a controversial dish where the bird was drowned in Armagnac brandy after being force-fed to increase its size.
The meal is considered so decadent that it is traditionally eaten with a napkin draped over one’s head to shield the act from the eyes of God.
While illegal, the practice remains widespread and has led to population declines of the species.
This article by Steph Spyro and Jonathan Buckmaster was first published by The Express on 3 October 2025. Lead Image: Willow Warbler caught in an illegal trap (© RSPB Images).
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