Women set their targets on the Turkish hunting scene

 According to Nazife Yıldız Sükan, herself the editor of www.avlak.com, a major Turkish hunting Internet forum and Web site, there are around 30 professional female hunters in the country, with about twice that number taking a serious interest in the sport. Sükan is among the pros and has hunted since she was 18 years old, chasing down boars in Çankırı, rabbits in Ankara and partridges in Çanakkale. Sunday’s Zaman spoke with the 42-year-old Sükan and other Turkish women about their love for the hunt. 

Sükan explained that during her childhood her father was an avid hunter. “We lived on vast lands and had hundreds of different animals, nearly 800 turkeys alone. I was 10 years old, and it was my duty to look after many of the animals. We had no electricity, no running water and we often wouldn’t see other people for a long time. Sometimes my father would return home really late at night, sometimes not at all. He had a 16-caliber shotgun, and sometimes I would test it out. I used to imagine that I was a hunter like my uncles, chasing down rabbits and wolves,” she said.

“That was my childhood. When I finally turned 18, my dreams became real, and I became a hunter. I live in Ankara now, and for three weeks, I’ve been back on the hunting trail. Boar hunting is my field of professional specialty. Before I go on the hunt, I always pray first out of thankfulness to God. The Prophet [Muhammad] also hunted,” she said.

Turkey’s female hunters are diverse and come from various backgrounds. Yonca Sulu, 33, began hunting in 2003. “When I first met the man who would later become my husband, I would go hunting to accompany him. Now, I have my own hunting rifle and dogs. We hunt with a group of four or five people, and we’re all close friends, including family. But I’m the only woman.”

Sulu speaks of her love for the hunt, the great outdoors and the thrill of the chase. “The way men and women approach the hunt is different. For example, partridge hunting is very difficult. You spend four to five hours ranging through steep hills and hills. I just walk at an even pace, and the men always look as if to say: ‘Is this woman going to be able to handle this? She’s going to slow us down.’ But after a few minutes, I break down their prejudice. I don’t need help from anyone. I carry my own gear, and I’m an able hunter.”

Sulu added that she is a working professional and has children. “I hunted while I was five months pregnant, and I also hunted during the immediate postpartum period. My husband supports me in this; it’s my lifestyle,” she said.

Women describe the thrill of the chase

Nurbanu Doğrusözlü is another female Turkish hunting enthusiast. The 35-year-old managerial assistant has been hunting alongside her husband since 2005. “We live in İstanbul, and go to nearby areas to hunt. Tekirdağ, Şarköy, Çorlu, Lüleburgaz, Gebze … I love being out in nature in the middle of the forest. And once you catch a whiff of gunpowder, you’re never able to put the rifle down again. When I’m out in the field or the forest, I become a different Nurbanu. With my rifle in hand, I walk through mud, sit on the ground, none of it matters to me. We have English Setters that we’ve put a lot of effort into raising and training,” she explained.

Gaya Güldemir says she learned hunting from her husband. “I learned from [my husband] Ufuk everything about what real hunting is, how to hunt properly and in a sustainable manner. Before I became interested in hunting, I was a gun enthusiast. When Ufuk discovered this interest of mine, he figured I would take a liking to hunting as well and so began to teach me about it.”

Hunting isn’t about wandering around in the woods and shooting animals that walk by, Güldemir said. “This lifestyle absolutely requires education, knowledge, patience, willpower, respect for animals, adherence to rules and extreme attention. … I remember my first boar hunt, which was very important in terms of my hunting experience and education. I’ll never forget that moment, with an experienced hunter by my side, and the pressure for me to make the right shot. My heart was beating so loudly that I was afraid that the boar would hear it and run away.”

Hunting popular in Turkey

According to Yaşar Türkler, head of the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s Wildlife Department, there are 85,000 registered hunters in Turkey, with another 250,000 having received hunters’ training and education and preparing to begin officially. (Of course, however, there is also an illegal side to the Turkish hunting scene, one that persists despite the efforts of the government and animal rights activists.) There are set dates and periods when hunting is allowed; the season begins in August and ends in February, with each hunter having the right to hunt three days a week. Nobody has unlimited hunting rights; there are 454 types of birds in Turkey, and only 36 of them can be hunted legally. Similarly, out of 114 types of land mammals, only seven can be hunted legally.

Leylam Kiraz (23) of Balıkesir, who learned hunting from her father, says that there is no contradiction between being an avid hunter and an animal lover. “My father is the president of the Balıkesir Burhaniye Hunters Club. I’ve been hunting well for about four to five years. Whatever you can think of, I’ve hunted it. Rabbits, partridges, quails, ducks… Central Anatolia is a great hunting ground, Ankara, Konya, Kırşehir, Çorum and Kırklareli,” she said.

“There are two types of hunters: Those who truly love nature, and those who don’t follow the rules. We oppose people who go out to hunt, for example, to see who can kill the most animals. We only hunt in areas designated by the Environment and Forestry Ministry. As a club, we also have days when we go out and clean up the wild. I love hunting, but I’m also an animal lover. I have two dogs, a cat and 14 fish. When I first began hunting my father opposed it, saying, ‘Girls can’t be hunters.’ But when he saw that I had taken a true interest in it, he didn’t stop me,” Kiraz said.

According to the administrator of another top hunting Web site who asked not to be identified, many top public figures are also avid hunters, including Ülker owner Murat Ülker, İşbank General Manager Ersin Özince (known among the hunting community for his excellent skills), GENPA owner Zeynel Abidin Erdem (among Turkey’s biggest arms collectors), Ceylan hotel group owner Abdullah Ceylan and Desen Triko owner Türker Sümer. At age 80, Sümer has hunted throughout Turkey, Mongolia and the Alps. He came in first last year in a competition known colloquially as the “hunting Oscars.”