Türkiye Releases 11,000 Wild Animals Back into Nature

(MENAFN) Conservation authorities in Türkiye have successfully rehabilitated and returned 11,000 wild animals to their native ecosystems throughout 2025, a senior environmental official revealed.

Kadir Cokcetin, who heads the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks within the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, disclosed that rehabilitation programs spanning 2012 through 2024 facilitated the recovery and release of approximately 73,000 wild creatures.

Speaking to media, Cokcetin explained that wildlife impacted by natural catastrophes, physical trauma, illness, or severe fatigue receive medical intervention before being reintroduced to their natural surroundings after completing rehabilitation protocols.

The official noted that collaborative partnerships with academic institutions, civic organizations, and local governments primarily handled rescue operations until the early 2000s. The directorate subsequently constructed specialized rehabilitation facilities across 11 provinces, transforming the initiative into a more structured and wide-reaching operation.

These facilities deliver urgent medical attention, diagnostic imaging, surgical procedures, and critical care units, alongside rehabilitation programs tailored to specific species' behavioral needs, Cokcetin reported. Prior to release, animals undergo comprehensive health evaluations and screening for parasitic infections and communicable diseases.

Following release, conservationists employ tagging systems, banding techniques, and electronic tracking devices to monitor whether wildlife successfully reintegrates into their native habitats, he noted.

Strategic Breeding Initiatives
Cokcetin emphasized breeding initiatives designed to bolster biodiversity and reinforce wild animal populations.

"There are partridge breeding stations in Afyonkarahisar, Kahramanmaras, Yozgat, Gaziantep and Malatya, and pheasant breeding stations in Samsun, Istanbul and Gumushane," he said. "By releasing these birds into nature, we both support wildlife populations and aim to reduce predatory pressure on natural ecosystems."

According to Cokcetin, partridge releases serve to control tick populations, while pheasants function as biological pest management agents targeting the brown marmorated stink bug, especially throughout Türkiye's Black Sea coastal areas.

Beginning in early 2024, authorities released 36,250 partridges alongside 9,000 pheasants, Cokcetin stated, noting that cumulative releases since 2014 total 281,942 partridges and 246,200 pheasants, pushing the overall count of captivity-bred birds released into wilderness areas to 1,028,000.

Cokcetin appealed to citizens to report unlawful hunting activities, emphasizing that safeguarding wild animal populations grows progressively challenging without robust enforcement mechanisms.

He additionally warned against unnecessarily removing juvenile animals from natural habitats.

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