Rezvan Inlen, the Turkish Cypriot mukhtar of the village of Ayios Symeon at the foot of the Karpas peninsula, called for the extermination of Cypriot donkeys on Sunday .

He posted a video on social media platform Facebook in which he walks through a field near the village and gives an impassioned speech about his disdain for the animal and the impact he believes it has on agriculture in the region.

"This is Agios Symeon. I'm not sure about Apostolos Andreas, but it's about 40 or 45 kilometers away, about one village towards the center [of Cyprus]. These are donkeys, and these crops are mine, and these crops go straight into their stomachs , and the donkeys eat these crops," he began, describing the scene.

"Apparently there was a murder or something recently. 15 of the things were killed, they said there was a murder. A murder! Not one of them should be left! Not a single one!"

And he added: “The donkeys will be full to bursting and I will bite the dust ,” while the donkeys continue to eat the crops from his fields.

He said the donkeys were "useful for more than one purpose" before criticising those who advocated allowing donkeys to roam freely.

"They have come as far as Agios Symeon because there is food here... and in your words they are 'free donkeys', but for us, the people who are trying to make a living from this land, they are animals who are taking away our freedom and the future of our children," he said, before his tone rose again.

"Look at these animals that have come here to destroy the crops. Not just 15, if they kill thousands, I couldn't give a damn! Not a single one of them should be left."

He added, in case people reacted angrily in the comments on the video: "Whatever you say down there, whatever you say about me, I'm saying that about you right now in advance, exactly the same thing."

"Whatever is said, exactly the same. I'll give it back to you in advance."

He then clarified that his words should not be understood as the words of a concerned citizen, but from his position as an elected official.

This was written by the Mukhtar " Rezvan Inlen"

" I, Ayios Symeon Mukhtar, say as a public official that not a single donkey should be left behind in these countries. Where are the people who defend them? I wish them the same. Whatever bad words are written in the comments, I have very bad words for them, very bad."

"Come, come and look at them. Hundreds of hectares of land and where do they come from? They come here in packs of 20, in packs, packs of 30, packs of 50," he added.

He ended his speech by saying, "We are not farming these fields to feed the donkeys, we are farming them for the future of our children." When the video stopped, the braying of a donkey could be heard in the background.

The director of the Tashkent Nature Park, Kemal Basat, reacted to the video on Sunday afternoon and stressed that he was on the side of farmers in their efforts to protect donkeys.

" One of the most important problems we have observed in our studies is the 'human-donkey conflict' ... For 50 years, these donkeys have been constantly searching for survival in a region they did not choose and do not want... and similarly, our people in this region have become victims of the damage the donkeys have inadvertently caused," he said.

He said the donkeys had wandered down the peninsula in search of food and water, increasing tensions.

"I don't know Rezvan Inlen personally, but I don't think he is a bad person or that he really wants to harm the donkeys. Instead of analyzing the words he used, we should understand the helplessness and the material and psychological pressure that this creates in the region ," he said.

Tashkent Nature Park is implementing the “Karpasia Donkey Management Plan” to raise 2.28 million TL (59,793 €) – enough to care for a total of 300 donkeys.

The Karpasia Donkey Management Plan aims to 'save' the donkeys and ensure that they do not damage the crops of farmers in the area and is organised jointly with the Northern Ministry of Tourism and the Turkish Cypriot Municipality of Rizokarpaso and Yialousa.

Basat told the Cyprus Mail that the plan involves counting, capturing, health checking and registering the donkeys .

"The national park area at the tip of the Karpas Peninsula will be redesigned, feeding and water troughs will be installed at suitable locations and scientific studies will be carried out to determine the overall capacity of the area."

He added that every donkey in Karpasia will be registered within the next three years and then managed under the plan.

"The ultimate goal is to ensure that donkeys live safely and meet the animal welfare standards they deserve , to protect nature from unintentional damage caused by donkeys and to protect local people's products from donkeys in a proper and healthy way," he said.

Citizens have the opportunity to symbolically adopt a Karpasia donkey through Tashkent Nature Park and Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute by visiting bit.ly/esekkurtar .

The cost of adopting a donkey is 7,600 TL (199 €) . Tashkent Nature Park explains that the money will help "improve the living conditions of these long-neglected animals in Cyprus".

Source: Cyprusmail.com

Author: Tom Cleaver