High field magnets for nuclear confinement fusion reactors are a prime application for high temperature superconductors, with a multitude of privately and publicly funded concepts currently in various stages of development. However, compact fusion reactors expose the superconducting magnet system to a destructive fast neutron flux, which degrades the superconducting properties. Recent simulations using an ARC-like reactor indicate that this degradation happens faster than previously expected [1], which motivates further studies of the fundamental mechanisms of degradation due to neutron irradiation damage and potential mitigation strategies. REBCO based thin films and short pieces of commercial coated conductors, where the silver layer between the voltage contacts was removed by chemical etching were irradiated with neutrons in our TRIGA Mark-II research reactor at different positions within the reactor. Each position yields a different ratio between fast and thermal neutrons, causing different defect landscapes, i.e. different ratios between large and point like defects. After cryogenic characterization pre- and post- irradiation, these samples were annealed in pure oxygen atmosphere, while slowly ramping the temperature and measuring the resistivity of the superconducting layer in-situ. Features in the temperature dependence of the resistivity are compared to predicted defect formation/recombination energies and mobilities. The respective recovery of the critical temperature was utilized in order to identify the defect species that are particularly harmful for the superconducting properties. [1] D. Torsello et al 2023 Supercond. Sci. Technol. 36 014003