The activist group Committee Against Bird Slaughter (CABS) on Tuesday appealed to MPs to strengthen environmental efforts and protect wildlife, saying lawmakers should not be “misled” by deceptions designed to disrupt the cooperation between NGOs, the police and state authorities.

“Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of the House environment committee, conservationists are urging Cypriot MPs to reject political maneuvers aimed at crippling anti-poaching operations and instead bolster the vital partnership between civil society and law enforcement,” the group said.

The statement follows a comment by ELAM MP and House environment committee chairman Linos Papayiannis on Monday who said he would not invite anti-hunting activists to the debate, describing their conduct as “beyond the limits of what is tolerable and permissible.”

CABS, which plays an active role on the island against illegal bird trapping, emphasised that its volunteers operated strictly within the legal framework of the Republic to monitor and enforce the EU birds directive, denying Papayiannis’ claims that the group would forego order, as well as the police and the game and fauna service and violated the law.

Papayiannis on Monday accused the group of reporting hunters with valid licences who were hunting legally, and claimed activists had in some cases stood in front of armed hunters to obstruct them.

“I am neither going to invite them nor do I recognise them,” he said.

CABS warned that giving in to the pressures of ELAM and hunting associations would “severely damage” the Republic’s international standing and reverse significant progress achieved in combatting wildlife crime.

Welcoming the parliamentary session on the matter as an opportunity to showcase “the indispensable contributions of conservation groups”, CABS said it firmly rejected ELAM’s attempts to restrict field operations.

“Joint operations between game wardens, police, and NGOs have been the backbone of successful anti-poaching efforts in Cyprus for years,” CABS president Karl-Heinz Kreutzer said.

CABS said its reports have contributed to the conviction of 55 bird poachers, as well as the confiscation of 1,621 lime sticks, 139 mist nets, 89 electronic bird callers and the freeing of 1,286 live birds entangled in nets or glued to lime sticks during last autumn’s hunting season alone.

“The demand to limit this successful cooperation is a transparent trap designed to blindside law enforcement and clear the fields for wildlife offenders,” Kreutzer said.

CABS called for the MPs to use the upcoming meeting to “formalise and scale up institutional support” for anti-poaching operations and support closer institutional ties between NGOs and local authorities.

The agenda tabled by Elam for the committee meeting to debate “environmental activists and the phenomena surrounding them” has been backed by Diko and Disy.

Meanwhile Akel MP Marina Nicolaou said Elam had first attempted to table the issue using stronger language, accusing activists of “uncontrolled activities,” which was withdrawn after Akel objected before returning the motion under a different title.

She argued the committee should focus its attention on poaching rather than on those exposing it.

Diko spokesman Panikos Leonidou defended the committee’s right to hold the discussion, saying “not all these organisations are the same”.

The Animal Party has called a protest outside parliament on Wednesday, while Alma said the item’s wording appeared to prejudge the outcome of the debate before it had begun.

The ecologists movement condemned the committee’s decision to proceed with the debate, saying its decision to hold it as one of its first actions “serves to protect poachers”.

“In a European country with serious environmental problems such as illegal bird trapping, smuggling, degradation of habitats and protected areas, and serious shortcomings in the implementation of environmental legislation, the ‘phenomenon’ that the Environmental Committee decides to examine is environmental activists?,” asked Birdlife Cyprus.

The group added that instead of discussing the role of activists, the MPs should move forward to address ways to implement existing legislation for the protection of migratory birds.

“To record, to officially report and to call on the authorities to enforce the law, however, is not a ‘phenomenon’ to be addressed. It is part of a democratic society and environmental and activist organisations have their own role to play,” it added.

Birdlife said it too was excluded from the meeting, having had its request to do so rejected, “something that is happening for the first time in our history of action. This alone says a lot”.

The hunters association, meanwhile, accused the activists of “harassment”, saying that the latter created “unnecessary tensions” that could endanger the safety of those involved.

“For years, the association has identified, denounced and highlighted the serious problem of harassment that legal hunters receive from individuals or organised groups during hunting activities,” it said.

“Respect for legality must apply to everyone. Just as the hunter has an obligation to strictly comply with legislation and safety rules, so he also has the right to exercise his legal activity without intimidation, obstruction or harassment,” the association said.

At the same time, the group emphasised its clear opposition to poaching and illegal hunting.

“We condemn every illegal hunting activity and support the effective implementation of the legislation by the competent authorities,” it said.