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© Usher, D. / Global Look Press |
The birds – which include robins and thrushes – are illegally caught in giant, near-invisible nets at Cape Pyla firing range to make ambelopoulia, a local delicacy.
They are variously pickled, grilled, or boiled. As the entrails are not removed, diners are encouraged to swallow the birds whole.
Poachers lure the birds in with recordings of bird song and kill them with a pin driven into their brains.
The RSPB claims that 800,000 were caught and killed in the autumn of 2016 alone. It is estimated that up to two million are caught every year.
The MoD has so far failed to clear the acres of acacia trees planted by poachers specifically to attract the birds.
“The trappers’ brazen prevention of the removal of their criminal infrastructure from MoD land could never be tolerated here in the UK,” RSPB conservation director Martin Harper told the Times.
“The UK government must therefore provide enforcement support to help the base authorities respond to the trappers and safely remove the remaining 90 acres of acacia."