This year’s hunting season begins on Sunday 2nd November and will continue for 11 Sundays until 11th January. This news has been leaked but will probably be verified on Wednesday 22 October. If there is a change in the date or the number of days I will write announce it immediately.
This should not be confused with the big-game hunting as we have no large wild animals on the island. It is mainly the larger birds like pheasants and other large fowl, hares and crows which are hunted. Every year at this time you can see a peculiar sight to many, mostly men, dressed in camouflage clothing with large guns that burst out of the trucks in the mountain forests.
Cypriots love hunting and these Sundays are “sacred” to them. The hunter’s poor out into the forest at dawn and the sunset is the only thing that interrupts their activity. You will find that in all local cafes all they talk about is hunting at this time, often proudly grilling their catch with a small party organized for hunters in the night. Guess what they’re talking about? It’s like fishing; it’s what you do not manage to catch that is always the greatest story.
One important tip is that on these Sundays stay far away from hunting grounds to avoid an accident. The days before the hunt begins every newspaper shows maps of where it is permitted to hunt and the areas which are not. The rules are many but the most important is that hunting should not be conducted closer than 500 meters from any dwelling.
During this hunt, they also have hunting dogs, which means that many stray dogs run in the woods.
