Cyprus Mail 20 February 2025 - by Tom Cleaver
The killers of the 14 donkeys which were found to have been shot dead in Karpasia on Sunday will not face jail, Cyprus Turkish Bar Association animal rights committee chairwoman Suna Amca said on Thursday.
Speaking to Kibris TV, she explained that the north’s animal welfare law was due to be updated last month, but that it was sent back to the ‘parliamentary’ legal committee by the ruling coalition after objections were raised over the criminalisation of cock fighting.
As such, she said, the most severe possible punishment for the shooter or shooters, if and when they are found, is a fine of 173,876TL (€4,586).
“If the fine is not paid, the issue will then be referred to court. A prison sentence may still be on the cards, not because the animal died, not because we took away its right to life, but because the administrative fine was not paid,” she said.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot Rizokarpaso and Yialousa mayor Hamit Bakirci confirmed that the police’s investigation into the matter is ongoing, and said CCTV footage from nearby premises is being examined.
“We are trying to provide everything that has been asked of us. While the investigation is ongoing, the police are not sharing anything publicly. We are in constant consultation with the police. If there is any development, they will inform us,” he said.
He described the shooting of the donkeys as a “planned incident”, and added, “those who committed this crime are guilty, but the political side, which has not taken any steps regarding this donkey problem for years, is at least as guilty as them”.
The lack of advance political action over animal welfare did not go unnoticed in the north’s ‘parliament’, with opposition party CTP ‘MP’ Fide Kursat saying on Tuesday that “the only people responsible for the brutality experienced by the donkeys are the administrators who are not sitting in their seats in parliament”.
Meanwhile, deputy ‘parliament speaker’ Fazilet Ozdenefe criticised statements made by ruling coalition figures in the wake of the shootings, saying, “you would think they were in opposition”.
The Turkish Cypriot police announced on Wednesday night that the autopsies of the 14 donkeys had been completed, and that it had been determined that all 14 had been shot with a hunting rifle.
On Monday, the Tashkent nature park had said that initial findings had determined that the animals were shot and killed at close range.
The Tashkent nature park announced some better news on Thursday morning, revealing that 292,532TL (€7,718) has been donated by members the public as part of their “donkey adoption campaign” since Tuesday, which aims to aid conservation efforts and protect farmers’ fields from wild donkeys.
“So, with all our efforts, we saved 38 and a half donkeys in just over a day. This is a huge success for such a short time,” the nature park’s director Kemal Basat said.
He added that he will now make efforts to establish contacts with hotels and casinos with the aim of bringing in more donations, while also calling on Turkish Cypriot municipalities, universities and banks to offer donations.
“I do not think that any of these institutions will say that after all that has happened, we are not taking care of the Karpasia stray donkeys, we are not going to make a small contribution. But still, if you have the means to facilitate access and explain it, our Karpasia donkeys need your support. If you want to do something for them, the time is now,” he said.
The Tashkent nature park is overseeing the “Karpasia donkeys management plan”, which aims to “save” the donkeys and ensure they do not damage farmers’ crops in the region.
The project is jointly organised with the north’s ‘tourism ministry’ and the Turkish Cypriot Rizokarpaso and Yialousa municipality.
Basat told the Cyprus Mail that the donkeys would be counted, caught, subjected to health checks and registered.
“The national park area at the tip of the Karpas peninsula will be modified, feed and water troughs will be placed in appropriate places, and scientific studies will be carried out to determine the total capacity of the area.”
He added that every donkey in Karpasia will be registered within the next three years and subsequently be managed within the scope of the plan.
“The ultimate goal is to ensure that donkeys live safely and to the animal welfare standards which they deserve, to protect nature from the unintentional damage caused by donkeys, and to protect the local people’s products from donkeys in a correct and healthy way,” he said.
