Livestock industry isamong the most important sources of income for the Siirt province. Thelivestock industry plays an important role for the balanced diet of humans, inproviding raw materials for industrial applications, to prevent disguisedunemployment in rural areas and for the financing and development of ruralareas.  

Strenghts of the Siirtprovince are the intensive livestock industry activities, common viticultureactivities, forestry activities in Eruh and Şirvan counties and the existenceof a brand such as the Pervari honey, while the weak spots are the applicationof obsolete methods in the livestock industry, and an underdeveloped industrial(food etc.) presence.  

TRC3 Region with the totalsurface area of 26.090,1 km²  (Siirt, Batman, Mardin, Şırnak) onlycovers 3,3% of Turkey but has a significant potential in terms of animalhusbandry. The intensive livestock activities in the Siirt province demostratethat it has the potential to take advantage of the ever-increasing demand onanimal products nationwide.

The most prevalent livestockactivities in the region consist of cattle farming, sheep & goat farmingand beekeping.

5,96% of whole bovine andovine assets of Turkey is located in the TRC3 region. The region houses 1,49%of the ovine and 7,72% of the bovine individuals in Turkey. As it can be seenfrom the provided data, ovine industry is more prevalent in the region. Theregion contributes to the total animal product value of Turkey by 2,02%. Thiscase is different in terms of the value of live animals and animal products,which are the components of animal-related production. The region contributesto the total live animal count of Turkey by 2,78%, while the contribution toanimal-related products falls under a mere 1%. This indicates the existence ofissues in terms of animal-related production.

There are many reasons forthe region's contribution to animal-related production value being too low.Most of the bovine and ovine animals in the region are composed of endemicbreeds, and the yield of meat and milk obtained from these breeds arerelatively lower than the cultured and hybrid breeds. The ratio of local cattleamong the bovine population in the region is around 53%. This ratio is 18% whenit comes to Turkey as a whole. Although the population of endemic breeds are indecline in recent years, this figure is not yet at a desired level (TurkishStatistical Institute, Livestock Statistics, 2012).

The lack of slaughtherhousesand combined facilities in the region prevents the generation of healthy data,especially in terms of meat production. This leads to slaughtering underunhealthy conditions and causes the entry of illegal meat into the region. Asfor milk production, efficiency is below the average of Turkey. Additionally,there are issues in terms of  access tomilk in the market, especially in areas with low accessibility. In thisrespect, the works of agricultural orginizations prove insufficient (TRC3 (Mardin-Batman-Şırnak-Siirt)2014-2023 Regional Development Plan)

According to TÜİK 2012 datathe wool, hair and mohair generated in the region amounts to a total of 3794tons and this corresponds to 6,9% of the nationwide production in Turkey.

Although animal husbandry isthe most important source of income in Siirt, lack of support in terms ofresearch and development has caused the activities to become traditional andfar from recent technological developments and awareness, leading toinefficient yield overall.   

Animal husbandry, which isone of the most important sectors forming a rural economic structure, iscentered around veterinary services in terms of administration. If thelivestock activities in the region are supported with rehabilitation studiesand cultured breeds, the yield obtained per individual  will increase and this will put the region ina competitive position among the other regions, both in terms of animalpopulation and the amount and quality of products generated.

It can be seen that animal diseasesare not sufficiently treated in the region, that the breeders engage ininsensible applications, thus leading the unrecovered animals to slaugther. Itis clear that there is a failure in the region in terms of taking seriousprecautions against diseases which could cause adverse effects on animalproduction, wellfare of animals and in zoonotic situations the human health.However, it is possible to prevent many diseases thanks to preventive medicalapplications (e.g. vaccinations) applied beforehand. A medical interventionmade after the disease emerges both adversely effects the efficiency of animalsand leads to significant costs in medicinal drugs. Unknowing consumption ofanimal products obtained from animals that suffer from zoonotic diseases alsoadversely affects the human health (e.g. Brucella). Although many diseasesfound in animals can be cured  withsimple interventions, the breeders choose to slaugther the animal due toinsufficient yield of products instead of treating the animal, and this isbecause of low-awareness among breeders in the region. This is the caseespecially for podiatric diseases that lead to significant losses in efficiencyfor closed system cattle breeding, which could very easily be eliminated withvery simple methods. However, lack of sufficient preventive measures againstdiseases lead to very severe situations , in some cases even affecting thewhole herd.

Another reason impeding thegeneration of sufficient income from livestock activities in our region is thelow yield obtained per individual animal. The reason for all these negativeconditions is the lack of a Research and Application Center on Animal Health,which would serve as a source of knowledge with both its applications andmeetings, symposiums and workshops it would organize for informationalpurposes. 

There is a need for aresearch center that would modernize animal husbandry which is a significantsource of income and an area of employment in the TRC3 region, transforming itto assume a profitable structure and put it in a competitive place among theother regions operating in the sector, thus potentially reducing the differencesbetween regions in terms of the level and rate of development.

 With the contributionsof Siirt University Research and Application Center on Animal Health(SİU-HAYMER), which will be founded within the body of our University, with thehelp of preventive medicine applications and diagnostic and therapeutictreatment services and scientific research studies, new doors will be opened inthe future.

National (e.g. SupremeCouncil for Science and Technology, BTYK) and regional (e.g. Tigris DevelopmentAgency) and international organizations (e.g. UN-FAO, AB-EFSA) emphasize theimportance of research studies to improve animal health and welfare and toincrease the efficiency and quality of animal product raw materials. Reportsdrafted by the relevant authorities point out that Animal Husbandry is amongthe key elements of competitiveness for the TRC3 region and that the region hassignificant disadvantages in this respect. (See Appendices; TRC 3 Regional Plan-DİKA,National Food R&D and Innovation Strategy -BYTK, Dairy Sectoral Analysis -IPARD Program Report, EuropeanUnion, GAP Action Report-Turkish Ministry ofDevelopment ). With our faculty established, as a result of preliminary studiescarried out, data confirming these stipulations were obtained and it wasdetermined that there is no research infrastructure in the region for animalhealth and welfare in the TRC3 region, the scientific/academic studies andR&D studies carried out were deemed to be insignificant, and it was foundthat the breeders still insist on traditional methods in terms of livestockoperations, that they cannot take advantage of preventive medicine services,and the level of efficiency is still not at the desired level/satisfactorydespite the potentials provided by a large population of animals and theexisting geographical opportunities, and that there is no nationally recognizedintegrated facility in the region that operates in this sector.

The universities have a dutyto carry out national and international R&D studies, to enlighten and leadthe way for the public, to correct the mistakes and to provide solutions forthem, to increase the level of income and to become a driving force in terms ofpublic health and technological developments.