Forestry workers implicated in Paphos hare poaching case

Two forestry department employees were implicated among three suspects in an “extremely serious” hare poaching case in Paphos, with the game service accusing staff of exploiting access to restricted areas for repeated violations of wildlife protection laws.

Game wardens on a targeted anti-poaching operation in Kouklia and Timi placed an area under surveillance. At around 4.30am last Sunday, they spotted a vehicle moving suspiciously through agricultural lands in Timi amid gunshots, leading to a pursuit after the driver ignored stop signals.

The vehicle was immobilised by 4.50am and two hunting rifles were seized inside. The vehicle carried three Paphos residents, two of whom work for the forestry department and have prior involvement in similar offences.

Wardens suspected the illegally shot hares had been stashed for later collection rather than loaded into the vehicle. An extensive search at first light uncovered two freshly killed hares camouflaged in trees at separate spots, along with serious damage to agricultural crops.

The game service expressed strong concern that forestry department employees are repeatedly breaching the Wild Birds and Game Protection and Management Law, with some appearing to exploit their positions in observatories and hard-to-access areas. It highlighted that two of the three suspects are forestry staff and this is not their first offence.

“Some employees of the forestry department appear to be taking advantage of the fact that they work both at observatories and in areas where access by other services is limited or almost impossible,” a statement said.

In recent days, service members have reported multiple cases of hunting in prohibited areas and the deliberate use of hunting dogs in such zones during hunting days to flush hares towards lawful boundaries for others to shoot.