Few complaints as hunting season gets underway

Almost 40,000 hunters set out on Sunday for the start of the new ‘endemic game’ season.

The hunters, for the first time, are required to declare their takings on the special platform Artemis CY or by SMS, before getting into their vehicles to leave.

Endemic game includes hare, francolins and partridge, some specially bred for the purpose and released by the game service into the wild.

Police reported several violations, including of a hunter in a prohibited area near Mari at around 9am who was caught and fined by the game service along with motorised police.

In addition to the fine for hunting in a prohibited area, he was also charged with illegal possession and transportation of a firearm and explosives, since the gun he was carrying was not his, and he did not possess a hunting licence.

Elsewhere traffic police were asked to transfer a 32-year-old man to the Nicosia General Hospital after his friend reported he was injured, having been shot in the leg.

Spokesman for the game service Petros Anayiotos, reported to Philenews that the service also found a man hunting without a valid licence. The penalty for this starts with a fine of €3,000, he said.

However, the first day of the season went smoothly for most of the 40,000 hunters who did renew their licences, Anayiotos noted. Hunters were also compliant with the mandatory declaration of game bagged, he said.

“We had a lot of entries on the app and also a lot of messages. The yield was satisfactory, despite the fact that weather conditions were unfavourable, as we had high temperatures and humidity,” he added.

The current hunting season will end on December 3. Hunting is only allowed on Wednesdays and Sundays.