Environmental disaster is taking place, as the workers complain, inside a wetland that was created in the area next to the Anthoupolis Wastewater Treatment Plant. This results from the intense activity of hunters, which is observed mainly during the first days of the hunting season, for almost a decade. Factory workers report that every Sunday and Wednesday shotgun bullets fall into their workplace as well as on their heads, literally. The images captured by politis.com.cy are fully representative.
One – of the many – “base” of hunters, facing the fenced wetland.
Shot and camouflaged
Around the factory there are wooden pallets, on which acacia branches have been placed for camouflage. There, every Sunday and Wednesday and for the duration of the hunting season, the hunters set up cartridges for the birds, which either fly over the area or live in the fenced wetland, in which there are three lakes created by the treated water, the which is then used for irrigation of adjacent crops.
A hunter staffs his makeshift post in the crankcase for bird flight. Apparently, his body is facing the wetland.
On the left side of the photo above, the factory is seen and on the opposite side of the road, hunters are waiting for the birds to pass.
The improvised constructions, as can be seen in the photos, are facing the fenced area of the wetland, which, naturally, is a forbidden hunting area. However, hunters have dug holes in the wire fence to enter and hunt in the wetland, or to pick up birds that fall wounded by their fire.
“Everything that moves, is executed”
Factory workers complain to politis.com.cy that the problem is not recent, but goes back at least a decade. According to their reports, during that period they have collected birds killed by the fire of hunters, which belong to species that are protected. In particular, herons, pelicans, owls, and even bee-eaters are said to have been, at times, victims of hunters, who often do not bother to pick them up, but kill them simply because they fly. Typically, we were told that “whatever moves, is executed” by the hunters, for the sake of adrenaline.
They are worried about their physical integrity
People who spoke on our website strongly expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation, just a few meters from their workplace. Only on the morning of Wednesday, November 10, 2021, when we were at the scene, an employee complained that, walking to the factory, after he had parked his vehicle, he received a bullet in the arm. The bullet fell into their workplace, from a shot preceded by a hunter.
A second complaint was made by an employee, who reported that shotgun bullets literally fell on her head while she was walking to her office. Typical is the photo below, which shows a window terrace, on which there are beads and two cartridges, which were collected through the factory and the wetland.
Killed bird in the fenced area of the wetland.
They are afraid of equipment
Near the fence of the factory, where the pallets – “machine guns” are set up, there are containers with chemicals which are used for the purposes of sewage treatment by the factory. Employees express their concern about an accident that could be caused by a moment of error.
In addition, inside the wetland, as we have been told, there is a small park for the entertainment of children, as the factory is obliged to have. However, the fact that the hunting activity takes place at a very short distance from the specially designed area, limits the possibility of hosting and guiding children to the factory.
The hunters have cut the metal wire of the fence to enter the wetland, either to hunt or to collect the birds they have killed.
The workers also reported a specific incident involving the unloading of new and expensive equipment. At the time of the execution, hunters who were around the perimeter and close to the factory were firing, causing concern for the new equipment.
No response from officials
The complaints do not only concern the hunters, but also the competent services, such as the Police and the Thera Service. According to the employees, these services have been informed many times about the problems that have been reported, however the response was not as expected.
Already, having not seen substantial actions from the competent services, the management of the factory has requested the contribution of its legal advisers.
The legislation
It is clear from the photos that the hunters' posts are located just 10 to 20 meters away from the fence and the factory premises. According to the Wildlife Protection and Management Laws of 2003 and 2014, prohibited hunting areas are:
(a) all urban areas, tourist facilities and residential areas of villages within a radius of five hundred (500) meters from the outskirts of their homes or facilities and areas within a radius of two hundred (200) meters from individual houses;
(b) all military installations and installations within a distance of three hundred (300) meters from them.
(c) all privately fenced areas of walls or wire mesh or other fencing material greater than one hundred and fifty (150) cm.
