In the last year dozens of street dogs have been forcibly removed from the streets of Kalkan following complaints of alleged attacks, aggression and anti-social behaviour.  These removals have been sanctioned by the Mayor of Kaş.  Bizarrely, no documented proof seems to have been needed or requested before ordering these removals.

These dogs are then taken to the hellishly overcrowded municipality-run “sanctuary” near Kaş.  A more accurate description would be the pound!  In 2006 the facility housed about 40 dogs; today, due to this inhumane policy, there are over 500 dogs in the same space.  Dogs frequently fight in the cramped conditions and disease runs riot through puppies and the weaker dogs housed there.  Dozens of dogs die there each year as a result of the inadequate conditions in which they are kept.  The municipality vet, her helpers and the local animal charity do their best to ease the suffering of these poor animals … but the fact is that the pound is just too small to house so many dogs, and yet the mayor continues to have dogs sent there.

The two local animal charities, KAPSA (Kalkan Association for the Protection of Street Animals) and KAF (Kaş Animal Friends) are opposed to this forced removal policy, which is based on seemingly unsubstantiated allegations from a small section of the Kalkan community. In fact we at KAPSA have written to the Mayor, as have many of our supporters, to express our outrage at this situation. But to date no one has received so much as an acknowledgement let alone a solution to the problem.

If the mayor is determined to pursue this policy, the Kaş municipality must immediately create a shelter which is fit for purpose (according to the guidelines clearly set out in Turkish Animal Rights Law No. 5199), with enough space to humanely accommodate the increasing number of dogs incarcerated within it.

Whilst we are not naïve enough to think that all ownerless dogs are suitable to live on the streets, the Turkish law clearly states that a shelter should be a temporary rehabilitation centre for sick and injured dogs, and the only permanent residents should be those that are either unsuitable or, for some reason, unable to survive on the streets — not perfectly healthy dogs which are being locked up on a whim.

By signing this petition, let us show the Mayor that this inhumane policy is causing innocent animals to suffer unnecessarily and is also severely damaging the image of Kaş and Kalkan as forward-thinking, sympathetic and animal-loving communities.