Please protest poisoned dogs in Izmir, Turkey

From Facebook
By Avril Simms

Please protest the newest case of deliberate poisoning of dogs in Izmir, Turkey; not that it makes any difference, but many were not strays but rather companion animals.


WHERE TO SEND YOUR LETTERS:

izmir@izmir.gov.tr , izmir@icisleri.gov.tr , bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr

SAMPLE LETTER | please modify & shorten:

To Whom It May Concern,

I am gravely disturbed to learn of the deliberate poisoning of stray animals in Turkey. This is not an isolated incidence and factually represents an indefensible, ongoing campaign conducted by the community in direct opposition to established protocols and law to address the growing population of homeless animals. Indeed, although Animal Welfare Law 5199 explicitly stipulates that killing or injuring any homeless animal is illegal and will be answered with strict penalties, given the transparent nature of these killings and the lack of official intervention and termination, it is obvious that municipal approval has been extended to support such. As such, I am demanding immediate intervention to protect these animals and criminalize the people responsible for such blatant cruelty.

It is impossible to contemplate supporting any country, via tourism or commerce, that excuses such blatant animal cruelty; as a direct consequence, the global community, refusing to defend this maliciousness, will condemn any further exploitation through personal boycotts. Ours is not an ambiguous request; you should understand that further killing will prove not only socially unacceptable but also financially irresponsible. As such, please provide immediate relief for these innocent animals and instead be a representation of animal compassion and strive to foster an ideal whereby animals are respected and empathized by your citizens. Allocate resources to construct shelters; implement sterilization and vaccination programs to prevent homeless populations and colony disease outbreaks; accept local and international advice and assistance; implement laws addressing current legal vulnerabilities; and enforce existing laws establishing animal cruelty as criminal.

I hope this letter finds you willing to scrutinize both your own involvement in the intentional exploitation of animals and your desire to therefore protect, rather than harm, them. Thank you for your attention to this urgent issue.

NAME
ADDRESS

Related | Do you still find it outrageous?

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BACKGROUND

Animal activists struggle to solve Turkey’s street dog problem
By Ipek Emeksix, Istanbul
Sunday, November 21, 2010

A policy of “neutering and returning” stray dogs to their original neighborhoods is the answer to dealing with the large numbers of roaming animals in Istanbul, according to the founder of an animal rights society.

“Neuter and Return is the most efficient, cost-effective and humane method of surplus dog control,” said Robert Smith, an English businessman who founded the Society for the Protection of Stray Animals, or SHKD, in 1998 after becoming outraged at the way Eyüp Municipality was allegedly abusing stray animals.

“The policy of Eyüp had been to either poison dogs [usually with strychnine] or to collect and dump them in the Hasdal rubbish dump. This policy was ineffective and cruel, as strychnine causes a slow and agonizing death,” Smith told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review late last week.

Emotionally affected at what he saw, Smith formed the SHKD to draw attention to the plight of stray dogs and to inculcate a more benevolent attitude toward the dogs in Turkey.

Smith and his team, initially composed of two catching teams, six veterinarians and 20 personnel at the time, began focusing on neutering and returning dogs to their habitat.

Undertaking all the expenses of the shelter, Smith constructed kennels for the dogs to stay and prepared intensive-care units and surgery rooms where veterinarians could spay and neuter dogs.

One year after founding the SHKD, animal rights activists protested the continued policies of Eyüp Mayor Ahmet Genç.

Although the SHKD was not involved in the protest, he said the team’s shelters in Hasdal were destroyed with bulldozers soon afterwards, leading Smith to suspect the municipality could have been involved.

Despite applying to the police and Governor’s Office, the investigation proceeded slowly and ended inconclusively, Smith said.

Smith rebuilt the shelter, which costs 25,000 Turkish Liras a month to maintain, thanks to savings he and his wife had saved, as well as business income from the United Kingdom.

Smith and his team have now successfully completed 40,000 surgeries during their operations, he said.

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• Companion Animals

to whom this may (or may not) concern,
izmir has become the land
of toxic waste
murdering dogs
in the name of haste
then tossing them like trash
in a tragic heap
you are mired in cruelty,
deep
please cease this heartless
abomination
and re-emerge as a compassionate
nation

Karen Lyons Kalmenson