“Authorities” in the occupied areas have begun implementing a management plan for free-roaming donkeys on the Karpasia peninsula, starting to gather animals found outside fenced zones, according to a report in the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kıbrıs Postası.
The programme, coordinated by the “Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute,” involves capturing the donkeys, transporting them to special facilities, carrying out veterinary examinations, fitting electronic microchips, providing treatment where needed, and then housing them in controlled fenced areas, the report said.
Kemal Basat, director of “Taşkent Nature Park,” told Kıbrıs Postası the project is based on a ten-year plan comprising one year of preparation, three years of intensive implementation and six years of monitoring and management. He said the ultimate goal is to relocate all stray donkeys in Karpasia to controlled areas.
Basat told the newspaper one of the main population control tools will be the sterilisation of male donkeys, aimed at limiting uncontrolled breeding and aggressive behaviour among the animals. Each donkey will also be registered, undergo blood and other tests, and be entered into a database for long-term monitoring, he said.
Basat said free-roaming donkeys were having a significant impact on the Karpasia ecosystem, affecting native vegetation, agricultural crops and water sources used by migratory birds, while also being linked to road accidents in the area. He added that providing food and water without controlling the population does not solve the problem but makes it worse.
As part of the plan, members of the public are being asked to report sightings of donkeys to the relevant teams, providing details such as location, date and time, to help with their collection, the report said.
The donkey management plan began in 2023 and is scientifically overseen by an 11-member committee including representatives of “state” services, universities and civil society organisations, according to the report.
Those running the programme describe it as the largest organised operation to date to manage free-roaming donkeys in occupied Karpasia, saying its aim is to safeguard both the animals’ welfare and the protection of the especially sensitive natural environment of the Apostolos Andreas area.
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