Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment, Maria Panayiotou, met with a group of experts from Israel and Switzerland on Wednesday to discuss biological rodent control using barn owls, headed by Professor Yossi Leshen.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Agriculture, the purpose of the visit was to document the achievements of the Cypriot program, as well as to capture the project’s activities in the field for a documentary expected to be completed by late 2024, aiming for global exposure.
The experts’ visit is part of their collaboration with the working group of the National Action Plan for rodent control using barn owls in Cyprus.
The achievements of Israel’s corresponding program for biological rodent control, which has been in place for 40 years with over 5,000 artificial nests currently deployed in rural areas of the country, were presented during the meeting. It was also mentioned that, regionally, the program involves participation from Jordan, Palestine, Greece, and
Morocco, in addition to Cyprus.
Their planning for further collaborations was presented, while discussions included the role Cyprus could play as a successful example of reducing pesticide use through barn owl utilisation, as well as a model for cooperation between governmental bodies and environmental organisations. Ideas and issues for improving the actions included in the National Action Plan were also discussed.
Source: Cyprus News Agency
