Conservationists say Cyprus police are lax in stopping gangs that poach songbirds

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A conservation group in Cyprus says that police have been lax in cracking down on criminal gangs who illegally trap songbirds to supply restaurants. Tassos Shialis of the conservation group BirdLife Cyprus says that the overall war on songbird poaching is being won. But he says criminal gangs continue to make “serious money by trapping on an industrial scale” and are doing so “with impunity.” Shialis says there are still up to 15 major trapping sites that use mist nets _  fine mesh suspended between two poles _ to catch the birds.