ENGLISH

Street animals are increasing day by day in our country; unfortunately the measures taken are insufficient. Our street animals are exposed to brutality. We all have a big share in this crime. Microchip implantation in the pets is a good step that has been taken to prevent the pet animals, which are a major contributor to the formation of street animals, from being thrown into the streets. However, the measures we take should be simultaneous and complete. If we take a look at the steps again: • Preventing the import of the pets and wild animals (those which cannot adapt to Turkey). • Preventing the animal smuggling through customs. • Supervising the production farms and prevention of production for a while. • Preventing the animal sales in the petshops. • Implanting microchips for the pets, as stated in the new regulation. • Spaying/neutering, vaccinating and implanting microchips, by the Municipalities, in the street animals in a simultaneous manner, and managing the follow-up of the diseases and repetition of the vaccines. If we do not take these steps in a mobilization mentality, the efforts will be in vain again. As for the Municipalities, the institution spaying/neutering and vaccinating the street animals: In our country, where municipal work perception is yet to improve, the efforts to rehabilitate street animals, which should be very sensitive, lack humane thinking, knowledge and love unfortunately. This work, which requires a humane thinking, must be carried out being aware of the sensitivity of handling a life. Today's situation is unfortunately far beyond the awareness of the fact that municipality's rehabilitation centers serve lives. Mayors should know that the work at those rehabilitation centers do not resemble water, road, sewer work and their most important duty is to serve street animals well. Thus, they will also serve the people in their own regions. The municipalities are never to be forgiven for the brutality the street animals were exposed to. Time to time the public rightly complains due to the population of the street animals. The municipality collects the street animals within its municipal borders and takes them to places where their fate is unknown, or to not well-sheltered, germ-full shelters, infecting animals with untreatable diseases. The poisoning of the street animals is a very common occurrence. Many street animals, shot buy drug needles die of overdose drugs since collection efforts lack veterinary control. By meticulously selecting and supervising the veterinaries assigned to the Rehabilitation Centers, our municipalities should prevent the veterinarians from harming the street animals. Rehabilitation Centers should adopt the principle of "work sensitivity". The staff in the Rehabilitation Centers should not be random people who do not like the animals and whose conscience is not good. On the contrary, the staff should be people who work with meticulous values and who have high conscience. In the Rehabilitation Centers, in-service training should be given to the staff. Of course, the most important point is that the Mayor must know that rehabilitation of street animals must be one of his most important tasks. Otherwise, collecting them and causing them to die severely binds them. We have many experiences that we could not get back the street animals we have sent to the Rehabilitation Centers. Is it because of the lack of hygiene at the Rehabilitation Centers or a malpractice of the veterinarians during neutering? Street animals are not less valuable than pets. Every animal we send to be neutered and taken from the street is our beloved one. Volunteers and animal loving friends and animal lovers who feed in certain areas are now in the infidel. What I have written here are all our experiences. Our street animals, which cannot express themselves, are entrusted to us. However, what are we doing to them? Our animal-loving friends, who feed in certain areas, struggle at their feeding centers in summer and winter. It is not an easy task to deliver food that they supply under very hard conditions. However, this misery of the street animals that we accept as our children hurts our consciences. Taking these animals from these streets which are their homes, on complaints, is something that a municipality should not do. Rehabilitation Centers should not be sheltered, only sick and aggressive street animals should be treated there. The municipalities should vaccinate and neuter the street animals they collect from the street, and then drop them back into places where they have been taken. The population of the street animals cannot be reduced by killing. If these steps we propose are enacted and enforced by the enforcement authorities, population of the street animals which have one or two years lifetime, will be reduced in a short time, and their living conditions will be at the level they deserve. Behiye Fatma ERYILMAZ President of the Association of Protecting and Surviving the Nature and the Environment (DOĞÇEV)