Snake nets are brutal death traps and the government on Wednesday launched a campaign against them from the wider coastal district of Famagusta, according to Philenews.

Farmers and landowners are using damaged or worn netting that is laid in thin webs along property lines or tied to fences and walls, the Department of Agriculture and police have found.

However, not only snakes are caught there, but also other reptiles, hedgehogs and many ground-dwelling birds.

The brutal trapping is being carried out despite calls not to kill the snakes – some species of which are protected by the EU Habitats Directive and national legislation that makes it an offense to capture and kill them.

Fines in Cyprus can be up to €17,000, three years in prison or both sentences together.

There are eight species of snakes in Cyprus, with the venomous blunt-nosed viper (macrovipera lebetina) being the only one that poses a danger to humans.

Since no snake will attack humans unless disturbed or provoked, people should not try to capture or kill one.

People are advised to avoid going to densely vegetated areas that impede visibility or putting their hands in bushes or under rocks and tree bark without protective gloves.