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The animal name changes in Turkey is the revision of taxonomic nomenclature of three subspecies by the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The name changes removed references of Armenia and Kurdistan in the Latin nomenclature of subspecies of each animal.
Contents
History and reaction
The declared taxonomic nomenclature for the three subspecies is effective for the Turkish Environment and Forestry Ministry. According to a statement released by the same ministry on March 4, 2005, the original names were divisive and contradicted "Turkish unity".
Some Turkish officials have said that the original taxonomic nomenclature was intended in bad faith to imply that Armenians and Kurds resided in the areas where the animals lived. However, only the Latin or scientific names of the animals were changed.
Andrew Polaszek, the executive secretary of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, the organization responsible for establishing species naming conventions, has told in an inverview that the revised names are scientifically acceptable; however their acceptance depends upon article publications in scientific journals.
Revised taxonomic nomenclature
These changes currently affect only official taxonomic nomenclature usage by the Turkish Government.