It’s not being picked up on mainstream media but X users are reporting that the Turkish dog cull has begun.
Earlier this summer President Erdogan announced he’d start culling 4 million stray dogs from the streets of Turkey. The dogs are becoming a nuisance after a failed sterilization program didn’t work. Locals say it was due to lack of enforcement — the same reason why so many new earthquake-proof buildings in Turkey crumbled after the last earthquake.
Turkish animal activist Insane Huseyin posts thousands of images of abused animals in Turkey. Locals and governments turn a blind eye.
“Has the photo become a poster of the evil that kills innocent animals by injecting them with laundry drugs?” writes Huseyin. “The world is angry and cursing.”
“A man was arrested in Istanbul for trying to stop dog catchers from illegally darting stray dogs without a vet in attendance. People will now end up in prison for trying to stop Presidents Erdogan’s dog genocide,” writes Dominic Dyer.
On Sunday, September 1, 2024, at 15:00 PM, animal rights activists in Turkey will demonstrate to demand justice for Turkish strays and stand in solidarity with Turkish activists risking their lives and liberty to oppose the bloodshed.
They invite all people to join us to call on the Turkish government to repeal the massacre law. This demonstration is hosted by Animal Save Movement and In Defense of Animals. An event will also be hosted in London outside the Turkish Embassy.
“Do not visit Turkey. Go to Greece instead,” says Nioh Berg on X.
It’s not the first time Turkey murdered its stray dogs. In 1910 80,000 strays were sent to a barren island to die. The massacre left a scar on the local psyche and many believed was to blame for the Ottoman defeat in the Balkan Wars & WWI.
Not long ago a Palestinian mayor called for the killing of dogs in Hebron, offering the equivalent of $20 for a truck load of dead dogs. This was until animal rights activist from Bethlehem stepped in – Diana Babish.
Animal abuse is rampant in the Middle East. We have plenty of horror stories from Jordan in our archives on abuse of dogs. Pets are abandoned as people flee climate change and the heat of the UAE.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. Read here about Islam’s teachings on animals for inspiration.
