A new Wildlife Care and Rehabilitation Centre opened in the Geri area on Friday, replacing ageing facilities in Athalassa that have operated since 1995, Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said at the opening ceremony.
The centre cost 720,000 euros and was built as part of the ‘Management of Natura 2000 Network Areas’ project, under the ‘THALIA 2021–2027’ programme.
Ioannou also said the Interior Ministry plans a series of steps in the coming period to strengthen the Game and Fauna Service and improve how it works. These include running the service on the same management and operating model as the Fire Service, covering all its operating costs through the state grant, and having the Treasury take over the calculation and payment of its staff’s pensions.
The new facilities substantially upgrade “the capabilities for the care and rehabilitation of injured, sick and orphaned animals”, Ioannou said, with the aim of returning them to the wild where possible.
He said the centre has a particularly important role in protecting rare and endangered species such as the vulture. Providing proper care and returning animals to the wild where possible strengthens efforts to conserve these species and protect the country’s biodiversity, he added.
The centre will also serve as a place to inform the public and raise awareness, and to develop scientific knowledge about wildlife species, Ioannou said. He described the project as a practical example of using available European and national funds to strengthen environmental protection.
