Customs Enforcement Seized 58,519 Live Animals in 2026

The Customs Enforcement teams of the Ministry of Trade seized 58,519 live animals in 29 operations in 2026 and handed them over to the units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.The Customs Enforcement teams have adopted the principle of protecting the national economy, as well as all living things and natural life, in their fight against smuggling. Within this framework, the majority of the seized live animals were medical leeches and leeches.According to the information in the statement, the largest number of live animals was seized at Istanbul Airport, with 51,065 animals, mostly consisting of medical leeches and leeches. At the land border customs gates, the largest number of live animals was seized at the Çobanbey Customs Gate, with 6,300 broiler chickens.

Live animals seized in customs areas are examined by the personnel of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry at the veterinary border control points, and after the report is prepared, they are delivered to the relevant provincial units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Customs Enforcement teams deliver the seized animals or their parts to the relevant regional directorates of the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, in accordance with the relevant article of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Law on Combating Smuggling, in cases where species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora are detected as smuggled.