Hunters injured father and sons in Maroni bust up

A group of ten hunters allegedly got into a scrap with a father and his two sons while they were in their fenced orchard at Maroni village in the Larnaca district after the landowner threatened to report them for hunting in a prohibited area, the Cyprus News Agency reported on Sunday.

CNA said the incident happened at 10.45am in the vicinity of the Ayios Nicolas church in Maroni close to where the Nicosia man, aged 59, kept an orchard. He was there with his sons aged 30 and 32 when the hunters appeared, the report said.

One of the hunters had fired off a shot that accidentally hit and damaged the rear of the man’s pick-up truck. The vehicle was parked inside the fenced orchard.
The 59-year-old told them they were hunting in a prohibited area, according to CNA, and he would report them to police.

At that point, the hunters began a fist fight with the father and his two sons who were injured and sought treatment at Larnaca hospital where they received First Aid for bruises and abrasions and were discharged.

Some of the hunters were also treated at the hospital for superficial scratches.

Zygi police station is handling the case, CNA said.

Thousands of hunters took to the woods early on Sunday for the start of hunting season which will run every Sunday and Wednesday until December 27.

The hunters are allowed to shoot hares and partridges. There were no reports of shooting casualties but one man was arrested for using an unlicensed weapon in Paphos after being nabbed by game fund officers.

Hunters are urged to respect property and the environment and to be especially careful when it comes to forest fires.