I am once more extremely disappointed that, despite the fact that the current Turkish fundamentalist government of  Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has made some strides on behalf of animals such as not permitting the sacrificial killing of food animals in major urban areas, despite the fact that even the Mayor of Istanbul in 2003 led a march for animal rights, and despite the fact that Turkey is a progressive country which has nationally outlawed the killing of stray dogs (something we in the USA can’t even dare dream of), and notwithstanding the fact that Turkey has a vibrant animal welfare and rescue community which truly cares about Turkish animals, Turkey continues to do the exact opposite of what it publicly professes to believe in. The local municipal governments have continued to treat street dogs with unimaginable cruelty. The below recent incident is intolerable and unless we in the international community let Turkey know that the federal government MUST prosecute the local municipal authorities who violate their federal law, Turkey will continue to rival Korea as one of the cruelest nations on Earth toward companion animals. 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009210&l=459c7&id=1271426292

These pictures are from the city of Van in eastern Turkey , and the tragedy going on there defies our ability to communicate in a consistent manner…. It is horrific, it is beyond words, and it is REAL. Happened today just a few hours ago…

The stray dog you see here was hit by a car 3 days ago. Its back legs were broken as a result. Nobody took it to a vet or anything – it was left to lie there in agony for 3 days. It couldn’t walk, it could only crawl after the incident. A few good citizens there in Van tried to help it, they cared for it, brought food and water so that it would survive. In the meantime, they called the authorities to come and help the poor dog. It was in excruciating pain, just begging for someone to put it out of that misery…