Illegally-traded finches, used by trappers to attract birds, have become more expensive as the government considers reopening the autumn trapping season.

“Birds, like linnets, were selling for some €20 each not so long ago, now people are asking for at least €75 for a single bird. I have seen the price go up in the past but normally this happens just before the season starts, never so early,” one trapper, who preferred to remain anonymous, said.

Trappers contacted by this newspaper said the possibility of legal trapping had already set the wheels in motion for the upcoming season.

“The price of decoy birds, like most black markets, depends on supply and demand. At the moment, the supply is low and the demand has suddenly shot up. By the end of summer, it will probably be even higher, so will the price,” another trapper said.

Mostly male hawfinches, the decoys’ mating calls, are used by trappers to lure in female birds, which then end up entangled in clap nets.

The singing lures can be legally purchased from pet stores as long as they have been bred in captivity and assigned a government tag.

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