ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Nearly 30 wild goats were released into the wild in Sulaimani’s Sharbazher area on Saturday in an effort to protect the animals from illegal hunting and help restore the Region’s wildlife.
The goats were purchased by Sharif Haji Rasul, a Sulaimani-based environmentalist and philanthropist known for regularly releasing wild animals and birds into nature.
“These wild goats were being kept in a garden; I went to see them for their beauty. The owner said he was selling them, so I decided right there to buy them all,” Haji Rasul told Rudaw’s Nzar Jaza on Saturday.
He said he then contacted Sulaimani Forest and Environment Police Director Brigadier Hoshyar Ahmed and fellow environmentalist Jalal Sheikh Karim to find a suitable location for the release.
“Three days ago, we came to inspect the area. We selected this place to release them,” he said.
The goats, which had been illegally hunted and sold on the black market, were released in coordination with Sulaimani’s Forest and Environment Police.
Ahmed said authorities are closely monitoring the area and prosecuting illegal hunters.
“In the past few days, two hunters were prosecuted and fined within this very border area,” he said. “Therefore, rest assured that we are always monitoring; we have sources in every village and the public provides us with information.”
“Anyone who violates the nature of Kurdistan will face the court and law,” he added.
The release was welcomed by local residents, who said they would help protect the animals from hunters.
“If we learn that someone is coming here to hunt, we notify the government services, or we use our social and family connections to warn them and discourage them from such actions,” said Ali Hassan, a resident of the area. “We protect them this way.”
The goats, consisting of both males and females, range in age from seven months to four years. They were released in a remote, mountainous area of Sharbazher, about 20 kilometers northeast of Sulaimani.
The area is characterized by vast plains and rugged mountains and is considered a suitable habitat for wildlife.
“Thanks be to God, Mr. Sharif has taken a very positive step in this region because it is a very suitable habitat for these wild animals,” Sheikh Karim said. “It is full of water and rugged mountain terrain. Leopards and bears have been spotted here before, so it is very fitting for wildlife.”
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) introduced a series of environmental protection laws between 2008 and 2010, including regulations aimed at curbing illegal hunting and protecting wildlife.
Under the Kurdistan Environment Board’s Protection and Improvement regulations, fines for hunting violations range from 100,000 Iraqi dinars to 10 million dinars (about $76 to $7,600). Hunting or poaching protected species including tigers, brown bears, black bears, deer, wild sheep and goats can result in a fine of up to 10 million dinars.
Fines can be increased when the animals hunted, trapped or poached are endangered in the Kurdistan Region.
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