Permission for killing 45 wild goats, a vulnerable species

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The 6th Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has announced that it is initiating a tender for "hunting the agency quotas of 45 wild goats and şelek wild goats in 13 parties."

As reported by Gazete Duvar news website, 45 wild goats will be killed in Isparta's Sütçüler district, and Antalya's Akseki, Kaş, İbradı, Gazipaşa, Alanya, Döşemealtı and Finike districts as well as their villages.

Ministry will gain 3 million lira

The open tender will reportedly take place in Turkey's Mediterranean province of Burdur on June 4, 2021. The ones who will participate in the tender will have to pay 200 lira as a tender document fee and three percent of the estimated value as a temporary deposit.

The estimated value of the wild goat depends on the region. While the Ministry has set a price of 17 thousand 600 lira (excluding the Value Added Tax) for killing the two wild goats in Sütçüler district in Isparta province, the prices set for the wild goats in Antalya province range from 17 thousand 600 lira to 122 thousand 400 lira. Accordingly, the Ministry will gain 3 million 70 thousand 60 lira as a result of the tender for killing 45 wild goats.

'Hunting is murder'

The announcement of the Ministry has caused an outrage on social media. Several social media users have called on the authorities to cancel the tender. Addressing the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry under the hashtag #AvCinayettir (Hunting is Murder), life defenders have made a call for the cancellation of the tender that will lead to the death of 45 goats.

About wild goats (capra aegagrus)

Capra aegagrus, or wild goat, is a species considered as "near-threatened" in the world and "vulnerable" in the Mediterranean region by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The species has also been included in the Bern Convention Appendix-II list of "species under absolute protection." Its capture, killing, possession and trade are banned, according to the convention.

Although wild goats are included in the ministry's list of species under protection, its hunting is allowed by the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, which is affiliated with the ministry, as part of a program to support rural development. (TP/SD)