Uproar in Turkey Over Slain Stray Dogs
Hundreds were found at a dump. Activists accuse officials of killing them, breaking rights laws.
By Amberin Zaman, Special to The Times
April 13, 2006
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish authorities are openly violating laws to prevent cruelty against animals, with abuses against stray dogs intensifying, rights activists and opposition lawmakers say.
The charges follow the recent discovery of hundreds of dead dogs in a garbage dump in Ankara's Mamak district, whose mayor belongs to the ruling Justice and Development Party. Animal rights campaigners allege the dogs were poisoned or shot dead by teams of municipal workers whose job is to curb the city's large population of strays.
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