Turkish soldiers and village guards continue to slaughter wild animals, especially mountain goats and sheep. Thousands of species live in the beautiful land of Hakkari and Van, on its high mountains, deep valleys and clear waters.
Some creatures that have been living in the Hakkari mountains for thousands of years are now in danger of extinction. Due to the ongoing war, most of the region’s forests were burned down. Natural life was destroyed by building HEPPs and dams in the valleys rich with thousands of animals and plants. Hundreds of police stations and posts were built in the Hakkari mountains.
Hakkari Berçelan and Mergabütan springs were known for the wild animals living around them. Wildlife has been completely destroyed due to poaching. It turned out that the soldiers and guards in the region poached many animals including wild goats, sheep and partridges every day. Mountain sheep and goats are on the verge of extinction as a result of massive hunting in Aladağlar, between Van and Ağrı provinces. In Aladağlar, where thousands of wild animals were once found, these are now very few left.
Wildlife has been slaughtered on the Sipan (Süphan) Mountain, located between the provinces of Van-Ağrı-Bitlis and Muş. As many as 20 years ago there were wild mountain oxen on Mount Sipan but it is now extinct due to the state’s hunting.
According to the information given by the villagers living in the region, the soldiers of the Mountain Commando Brigade, the soldiers and policemen in the Depin region and the guards in the surrounding villages hunted wild animals, especially wild sheep and goats. Stressing that no matter how much they try to protect their animals, the people said: “The state itself violates the ban it has imposed. We believe that these wild animals are deliberately slaughtered. We call on all public opinion to be sensitive on this issue.”