Turkey

 Update from Perihan Agnelli

With a new Animal Protection Law being developed, Turkey’s Fethiye Society is busy campaigning as well as continuing their neuter and return programme. The Society’s President Perihan Agnelli provides a round-up of some of their most recent activities.

Turkey is waiting patiently for the implementation of the Animal Protection Law to come through. On 22 July 2005 the implementation document was re-drafted due to mistakes and misunderstandings in the original draft. This document has now been passed on to the Agriculture and Interior Ministries for their agreement.

In the meantime, our Association in Fethiye is working as if the implementation was already in place. Knowing the contents of the implementation document, we are trying to educate other municipalities, officials and the public about it.

World Animal Day

Here in Fethiye, as in previous years, we celebrated World Animal Day by inviting our local schoolchildren to our Centre, to encourage them to interact with our cats and dogs and not to be afraid of them, but to understand them and show love for them as readily as the animals show their love for us.

This year we had four school parties visiting us, representing a wide spectrum of schools, from village schools to privately-run schools. Over 350 children came to the Centre that day, so our staff were busy caring and catering for them. A number of the children recited poems about what the love for an animal means to them – a positive sign for the future in a country where animals are generally not rated very highly.

On World Animal Day we were also presented with a diploma by the Regional Director General of National Parks and Wildlife in recognition of our animal welfare work. I feel very honoured and proud that the work of our staff has been recognised in this way, and I thank all of them for their continued professional and personal dedication.

Neuter and Return Programme

Our mobile clinic has been in Cannakale under the direction of our vet Alkan Kuscu, who is demonstrating the operating techniques that we employ for neutering, so that other vets can become proficient in it. The Mayor of Cannakale, Üzgür Gokhan, and the chairman of the Cannakale Animal Welfare Association, Riza Ökten, have formed an impressive working relationship regarding the stray dogs of the region. The Animal Centre in Cannakale has been very well equipped and the facilities for the neutering and general care of the strays are very good.

Our work in Fethiye continues at a steady pace. Our records show that out of the numbers of dogs we are receiving, as many are being re-homed as are going back to the streets. However, we still receive pups without their mothers, although we always request the mother is brought to us for neutering. At least people are able to bring them to a place where there is a chance to re-home them. This means that some mothers in our Centre suddenly have an awfully big family to feed!

However, there does remain one problem with any neuter and return programme – catching the strays. Most Turkish people have a basic fear of dogs, and any stray animal is treated with suspicion. Local municipality employees have never been trained in dog-catching techniques and it requires a few brave souls to undertake this task. Our own dog-catcher, Cuma, is very experienced but he cannot be expected to travel around Turkey to teach his methods, so generally our vets on the scene have to supervise and encourage the catchers. Prior to our arrival at some new locations, the only means of dog-control in the past has been the placing of poisoned meat on the streets!

The cost of medication

Wherever we go with our N&R programme, the cost of medication is of great concern to the local mayors who are all constrained by tight Government-controlled budgets. We are very fortunate to have the support of a medical supply company, Izmir-based Yeni Çag, which provides medication for these municipalities at cost price. Without this support the municipalities could not afford to pay for the necessary medication. For example, the cost of medication, including anesthesia medication, anti-rabies vaccinations, ear-tags and parasite treatment, works out at less than €6 per dog when buying from this company. Private vets will charge €60 to neuter a dog, with anti-rabies vaccination an extra cost.

Our policy is not to neuter a privately owned dog but refer the owner to a local vet. However, many dog-owners could never afford to pay €60 (the average monthly income is less than €300) so, rather than send them away knowing that they won’t go to the local vet, we will neuter the dog for them for free. I am very happy that an owner who brings their dog to us to have it neutered is a caring owner.