As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

News Summary: Cyprus jobless turn to bird trapping


DESPERATE TRAPPERS: The economic crisis is luring many out-of-work Cypriots back into the centuries-old trade of songbird trapping.

PRIZED DELICACY: For centuries, the migratory songbirds have been a prized delicacy among Cypriots. They are also an illegal one, as entry into the European Union forced Cyprus to ban the tradition of catching the creatures, some endangered, in nets or on sticks slathered with a glue-like substance.

NO ALTERNATIVES: Trappers risk stiff fines and even jail time by supplying an underground market for the tiny songbirds illicitly served up in the country's tavernas. They say it's their only way to make ends meet.

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