Crime
Suspended sentence over 702 songbirds found in Limassol home
A 32-year-old from Limassol district admitted possessing 702 plucked wild birds and keeping two goldfinches and a quail in captivity. The court suspended a three-month prison term for three years and fined him €500.
A court on Friday gave a 32-year-old man from Limassol district a three-month prison sentence and a €500 fine for illegally possessing wild birds and game. The prison term was suspended for three years, so he will not serve it now.
A search at his home on 30 October 2025 found 702 plucked wild birds. The search also found 13 other dead wild birds, 12 ambelopoulia and one thrush, and three live birds kept in captivity, two goldfinches and a quail.
The man faced two charges. The first was possession of wild birds whose hunting and capture are prohibited, under the Protection and Management of Wild Birds and Game Law 152(I)/2003, as amended. The second was illegal possession of game, for keeping the goldfinches and the quail.
The court imposed the suspended prison term on the first charge and the €500 fine on the second.
In setting the sentence, the court took into account his clean criminal record, his immediate admission, his young age and the fact that he had not previously come to the attention of the authorities.
What ambelopoulia are
The Cypriot name ambelopoulia refers to the blackcap, a small migratory songbird. BirdLife Cyprus says the word is also used as a collective term for more than 40 songbird species caught on limesticks and mist nets.
Trapping them is illegal. BirdLife Cyprus estimated that about 726,000 migrating songbirds were illegally trapped and killed in Cyprus in autumn 2025, in a report published in March 2026. The birds are caught for the illegal trade in ambelopoulia, which is sold to restaurants and for home consumption. The Game and Fauna Service has estimated that trade to be worth around €10 million a year, according to the RSPB.
In 2025, police carried out eight coordinated raids and issued fines exceeding €157,000, according to the RSPB. BirdLife Cyprus says trapping is concentrated in hotspot areas, mainly in Larnaca and Famagusta districts, and that the nets and limesticks catch other species too.
What is not known
The man has not been named. The report did not say whether the birds were linked to a trapping site or to a seller, or whether any equipment was seized.
How to report trapping
BirdLife Cyprus asks anyone who sees illegal trapping or the sale of birds to report it to the Game and Fauna Service, the Cyprus Police, the SBA Police or the Department of Forests, and to send details to the organisation through its website.
Sources (5)
- Philenews, Limassol man found with 702 songbirds gets suspended sentence, €500 fine, 6 November 2026 . Reports the search, the birds found, the two charges, the sentence and the court's reasoning.
- Philenews, Κατείχε αμπελοπούλια και 702 άγρια πτηνά, 6 November 2026 . Greek-language report with the same facts, published at 14:04 on 6 November.
- BirdLife Cyprus, Combating bird crime . Explains that ambelopoulia is the Cypriot name for the blackcap and a collective term for more than 40 trapped songbird species.
- RSPB, 726,000 songbirds illegally killed in Cyprus last autumn as enforcement gaps exposed, 2 March 2026 . Reports BirdLife Cyprus's autumn 2025 estimate and the Game and Fauna Service's estimate for the illegal trade.
- BirdLife Cyprus, Report poaching . Lists the authorities to contact and the organisation's reporting form.