A donkey died on Thursday night after being run over on the road between the Karpas peninsula villages of Leonarisso and Ayios Andronikos.
According to newspaper Kibris, the donkey “suddenly jumped out into the road”. The driver of the car was reportedly unharmed.
Local residents reportedly linked the incident to ongoing issues related to the management of donkeys, with a plan having been drawn up and jointly organised with the north’s ‘tourism ministry’, the Turkish Cypriot Rizokarpaso and Yialousa municipality, and the Tashkent nature park with the aim of resolving the issue.
The Tashkent nature park had in September issued a call for donations to fund the plan, saying, “it is now up to you to change the fate of the oppressed stray donkeys which have been abandoned for years in the Karpas peninsula.”
Of the project, they said, “Karpasia donkeys will be saved, and the damage they inflict on nature and the local people’s products will be eliminated.
“The current lose-lose-lose situation will turn into a win-win-win!”
The cost per donkey throughout the estimated 10-year lifespan of the plan is expected to reach €200, and to this end, the Tashkent nature park said that “by donating €200, you can also take care of a donkey in Karpasia and contribute to a permanent solution to the ‘donkey problem’ for the benefit of all parties.”
Asked about the plan’s details by the Cyprus Mail, Tashkent nature park director Kemal Basat said a 70-page document describing the plan’s various steps would be published within the next month or two.
This aside, he said, “it is envisaged that donkeys will be counted, caught, subjected to health checks, and registered.
