Where are all the Songbirds ? A Green Criminological Examination of the Songbird Poaching Epidemic and Pathways to Conservation in Cyprus

This presentation sets the foundation for a research project exploring the bird poaching phenomenon in Cyprus. I dissect the rise in poaching of Ambelopoulia, or more commonly known as Song Birds in Cyprus and surrounding Mediterranean islands adopting a species based approach. Thus, I emphasise the importance of an alternative world view within criminological theory and the examination of criminal and harmful behaviours. I explore the diverse range of factors that may be driving this epidemic. I combine green criminological and conservation theories such as cultural criminology, political economy, and strain theory. I then discuss the current conservation efforts. To do this, I outline the traditional crime prevention methods explored within criminology such as situational crime prevention and the CRAVED model, to assess how they are and could be transformed and utilized to aid to help protect this species from further decline.