EFFECTS OF KAHRAMANMARAS EARTHQUAKES IN SOUTH OF TURKEY ON LIVESTOCK ACTIVITIES

Animal husbandry is one of the most important economic activities that humanity has been carrying out since its existence in order to meet the need for animal protein which has an important place in nutrition. In Turkey, on February 6, 2023, two destructive earthquakes with a magnitude of Mw=7.7 and Mw=7.6 occurred in the Pazarcık and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaras in the south of Turkey. The earthquake caused the death of tens of thousands of our citizens in Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanlıurfa and seriously damaged our livestock. After the disaster, it was observed that many producers were unable to care for their animals due to the risk of epidemics that may arise from the animals that perished and the general damages that may arise from the loss of animals, especially the supply of feed, which is the most important problem for the animals that are rescued and currently kept. Delays in reaching rural areas during the earthquake revealed that a special structure should be established for villages in similar disasters. Structures such as intervention units for rural areas affiliated with AFAD can help with this.