Dubai, United Arab Emirates -  22 July  2019:   Carrying animals under the most real-like conditions in the skies, Turkish Cargo performed another life-saving transportation operation. An endangered griffon vulture, which started flying in Serbia and became exhausted in Şanlıurfa (Turkey) after flying 1600 kilometers long on its seasonal migration route, was carried to Belgrade by Turkish Cargo. 

The 1.5-year old rare griffon vulture named Dobrila, the last chain of the ecological system and living in the Uvac canyon of Serbia only in Europe, became exhausted while flying towards the east on its seasonal migration route, and landed in Şanlıurfa. After having been found by the farmers in Şanlıurfa, it was taken to the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in this city. 

The griffon vulture underwent some checks and reached its proper and healthy weight again at this center in Şanlıurfa, and then, it was released to the nature to continue flying on its migration route. When it was noticed that Dobrila, a member of the fowler family, couldn't continue flying, the officials of Republic of Turkey Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry contact with the Serbian authorities using the tag and tracking number, available in Dobrila’s foot. Following the discussions between the officials of the two countries, it was decided to send Dobrila to the Biological Research Institute (Siniša Stanković) in Belgrade.

After having been carried to Serbia from Şanlıurfa via Istanbul under the sponsorship of Turkish Cargo, which acts in line with its mission of respect towards animals' lives and nature in all its transportation operations, the griffon vulture was handed over to the Serbian officials during a ceremony attended by Tanju Bilgic, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Serbia, and Goran Trivan, the Minister of Environmental Protection of Serbia.

’’Today is a very special day for Dobrila, because after months of rehabilitation, it will fly for the first time. We thank Turkish Cargo for their support.’’ said Responsible Biologist for Dobrila, Irena Hrıbsek (Foundation for the Protection of Birds of Prey).

Turkish Cargo, acting according to its vision #MissionRescue , and carrying out live animal shipments taking care at the highest level, previously transported four lions from Ukraine, which were struggling with hunger and suffering, to their natural habitat in Johannesburg.

Having an extensive flight network reaching more than 300 destinations in 124 countries around the world, Turkish Cargo takes the CITES and IATA LAR (IATA Live Animals Regulations) regulations as the reference, and implements all documentation, caging, labelling and marking rules, prescribed under these regulations, in its all storage and transportation processes during live animal transportation service it provides with maximum care.