Mert Akkoek is a businessman and an animal lover. He chooses to live on the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey, because he needs to take care of his beloved animals. He mainly rescues dogs and seagulls but cares for all animals that need him.
Mert found a seagull with a broken wing and took the poor bird to the vet one day. Unfortunately, the vet cut off one of the severely fractured wings. Mert also found that there were no shelters for seagulls. The vet had recommended taking the seagull to the seashore and leaving her there. However, Mert could not just leave the bird all alone.
He knew she would die if he left her there. So, he took the seagull home and selected a small corner in his vast garden for the bird to stay. Soon, people knew him as a seagull caretaker and would bring him disabled seagulls who needed help and shelter. This time the seagull’s feet were cut off by fishing lines.
With people bringing him seagulls, he soon had a flock of them. Now, he has almost 50 seagulls who are under his care. He feeds them the best food and gives them fresh water twice a day.
Sometimes, he would go to the seaside on weekends and bring seawater for the birds when he had time. However, he never kept them in a cage so the seagulls could fly away when they recovered. Although very few managed to fly away.
Mert has been taking care of the seagulls for almost a decade. He has given them names. All the birds that stay at his shelter have different personalities. He thinks that the seagulls are like humans as they had best friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends. They even recognized him.
Mert even allowed healthy seagulls to fly down in his garden to play with the disabled seagulls and even fed them. He had made the shelter to protect these injured birds from harsh weather conditions outside. He recently even rescued a stork. According to him, the world is unjust and cruel towards birds and animals. Therefore, at least some of us need to help them.
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