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- Ελληνικά
A group of community leaders from the Limassol district visited the community of Deneia in the Nicosia district, as part of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment's effort to promote biological control of rodents and reduce the use of chemical preparations used for their control. As stated in an announcement, an information day on the issue will follow in Limassol.
The community leaders, in the presence of the Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Andreas Grigoriou, Environment Commissioner Celia Vassiliou, officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and neighbouring community leaders, had the opportunity to be informed about the biological control programme and to see in practice how it is applied so that they can implement something similar in their communities.
The community of Deneia, it is noted, is an example of good practice since in recent years the placement of rodenticidal baits in the area of the community has been discontinued since 2016, following the installation of artificial nests that contributed to the increase in the population of human birds and consequently to the reduction of rodents.
The example of Deneia can be followed by many communities in Limassol District that have been facing a long-standing problem with rodents, which are known to cause great damage to carob crops, as their control with chemical preparations is often economically unviable and damaging to the environment, it is further stated.
Following the visit to Deneia, the YMCA is going to hold an information workshop in Limassol during which the ways to implement biological control of the rodents will be presented and artificial nests will be provided free of charge to communities that express interest.
Meanwhile, within the framework of the "National Rodent Management Plan with the use of anthropologie", which was prepared on the instructions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in an effort to promote the biological control of rodents, the installation of artificial nests of anthropologie will be enhanced.
So far the Department of Agriculture, the Forestry Department, the Game and Fauna Service, the Cyprus Bird Association, the Hunting Federation and other organised groups have placed a large number of artificial nests in all provinces, of which a good percentage have been colonised by man-birds.
The National Action Plan aims mainly at mapping the nests already placed and those planned to be placed, studying the biology of the man-bird, as well as informing the farming community about the importance of biological control and the need to reduce the use of chemical preparations, which are often used uncontrollably.
The human bird is the farmers' best ally in the fight against rodents in the countryside since it feeds almost exclusively on rodents (mice and rats).Each man-bird consumes 4-6 rodents every night while a family of man-birds consumes up to 6000 rodents per year.
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