Poachers kill forest officer protecting snake eagles

Ali Rıza Akbulut - ISTANBUL

In an effort to protect snake eagles from being hunted by poachers, an officer in the southern province of Hatay’s Nature Conservation and National Parks (DKMP) lost his life while another got severely injured as poachers opened fire on them.

The gendarmerie units have started searching for the runaway poachers who killed Mehmet Ali Koşar and wounded Mehmet Atıcı.

According to local media, 43-year-old Koşar and his colleague went on a daily patrol on Sept. 12 to protect snake eagles from poachers.

As soon as the officers came to the site where the poachers were hunting, the poachers opened fire on them. One bullet hit straight in the chest, killing Koşar.

“We will legally be after those assailants,” Agriculture and Forestry Minister Vahit Kirişçi tweeted on Sept. 12.

In a tweet Koşar posted on Sept. 2., he boasted about his and his colleagues’ fight against poachers.

“These birds travel three continents but are shot dead in Samandağ [a district of Hatay]. Enough. We do not want this anymore,” the father of four had said.