Because scorpion breeding concerns both wildlife and a highly toxic material, it is an activity that requires permits. Those considering setting up a facility often assume the matter comes down to a single document; in fact, the process consists of complementary permits issued by different institutions. Taking the sequence followed in our facility's permit process as an example, this article outlines the steps in general terms.
It should be stated at the outset that this text is not legal advice. Legislation and the documents required by institutions may change over time. Before starting preparations, the safest course is to confirm the current requirements with the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry in the province where the facility will be located.
Which institutions are involved?
The institutions named in our facility's documents also outline the process as a whole:
- Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry: The local unit that receives the application and forwards it to the Ministry.
- Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, General Directorate of Livestock: The unit that issued our facility's establishment permit.
- General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks: The unit that carries out the registration, inspection and supervision of the facility as a condition of the permit; it also carried out the CITES assessment.
- Governorship: The authority through which the Ministry's decision is notified to the business.
- Municipality: The administration that issues the business opening and operating licence.
The process step by step
- Project preparation: The location, layout and operation of the facility are defined in a written project.
- Application: The project is forwarded to the Ministry through the provincial directorate. For our facility, this correspondence took place on 25.12.2024.
- Assessment and establishment permit: The Ministry reviews the project from a technical standpoint. For our facility, the General Directorate of Livestock granted the permit on 03.01.2025, stating that the project was technically suitable.
- Notification: The decision is notified to the business through the governorship. For our facility, notification was made on 06.01.2025 by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry of the Governorship of Hatay.
- Business opening and operating licence: A licence is obtained from the municipality so that operations can actually begin. Our facility's licence was issued by Dörtyol Municipality on 18.07.2025.
- Ongoing supervision: The permit is not a one-off approval; as a condition of the permit, the facility operates under registration, inspection and supervision.
The time between steps is not fixed. In our case, about two weeks passed from application to notification, and about six and a half months from notification to the business licence; these durations should not be taken as a benchmark for another file. Our tax registration also began in the meantime, on 01.07.2025.
In practice, supervision means regular and complete records. Colony records, production information and shipping documents are kept up to date, as they may be requested during an inspection; a facility with incomplete records will find it hard to demonstrate compliance, even if its operations follow the rules. For the same reason, it is important to archive correspondence with its date and reference number, and the notification letter together with its annexes. Our facility's establishment permit was issued with a secure electronic signature, and the notification letter can be verified via e-Devlet through the Agriculture EBYS. Electronically verifiable documents make it easier to respond quickly to confirmation requests from buyer institutions.
What questions should the project file answer?
The current list of documents required for the application can be obtained from the provincial directorate. That said, a well-prepared project file is expected to give clear answers to the following questions:
| Subject | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Location | At what address, and on which block and parcel, will the facility be established? |
| Species | Which species will be bred, and how will its identity be documented? |
| Housing | How will the animals be kept, and how will escapes be prevented? |
| Husbandry | How will temperature, humidity, feeding and cleaning be managed? |
| Safety | What protective measures will staff work with, and what will be done in an emergency? |
| Records | How will records of animals, births, deaths and products be kept? |
| Waste | How will biological waste and used materials be disposed of? |
In our facility's establishment permit, the location is given as Özerli Mah., block 1712, parcel 5, and Article 7/a of the Regulation on the Capture of Scorpion Species from the Wild is cited as its legal basis. The name of the regulation points to its link with natural populations; keeping captive breeding on record takes on its meaning in this context. The fact that the source species has been scientifically described and registered makes the species section of the file clear-cut; this subject was covered in the article on Androctonus turkiyensis. The principles of housing and husbandry were described in the article on closed-cycle breeding.
Municipal licence and health-regulated establishments
The Ministry permit concerns whether the activity may be carried out; opening the business premises is a separate administrative process. Business opening and operating licences are issued under Regulation No. 2005/9207. This regulation classifies businesses according to their nature; businesses that may pose certain risks to the environment and human health are subject to separate rules as health-regulated establishments.
Our facility's licence records the business class as a health-regulated establishment and the floor area as 180 m². For businesses in this class, site selection and operating conditions are examined in more detail than for ordinary businesses. The documents required for the licence application and the review steps may differ in detail from one municipality to another.
Documents that follow the permit
The establishment permit and licence allow production to begin; offering the product to institutions, however, requires additional documents. At our facility, these documents were completed in the following order:
| Date | Document | Institution or party |
|---|---|---|
| 04.07.2026 | Venom analysis report | Independent laboratory |
| 10.07.2026 | Safety data sheet, version 1.0 | Chemical assessment expert |
| 30.07.2026 | Confirmation of non-CITES status | General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks |
Each of these documents answers a different question, and none can replace another. The establishment permit states whether the facility may carry out this activity; the business licence states whether the business may open at that address. The analysis report describes what is in the batch, the safety data sheet how hazardous the material is and how it should be handled, and the CITES assessment whether the species is subject to international trade controls. A buyer institution's request for documents usually follows the same distinction.
What the species assessment means was explained in the article on CITES, and the structure of the form in the article on the safety data sheet. Details of all our facility's documents are listed on the documents page.
