Cat Killers In Edirne

Credit Ana Haber

In the Turkish city of Edirne, something horrific is happening. Cats, gentle, trusting, much-loved members of their communities are being killed. Some have been poisoned. Others have been found shot. Many more have simply vanished.

These are not isolated tragedies. They are part of a pattern, a long, slow cruelty that has been unfolding for years.

A Pattern of Violence, a Failure of Justice

Reports from Turkish media & community carers reveal that more than a hundred cats have died under suspicious circumstances in İpsala, a district of Edirne. Pathology reports confirm what locals already knew in their hearts: these animals were shot.

Since 2018, residents have buried cat after cat. They’ve begged for help, for justice, for someone to care and still, the killing goes on.

In 2022, fifteen dead cats were found in the yard of an abandoned house in central Edirne. No one was held accountable. No one was punished.

Cruelty Thrives Where Compassion Is Silenced

Every poisoned bowl of food. Every bullet fired. Every body buried in the night. These are not only crimes against animals they are crimes against humanity itself.

Because when a society accepts violence against the most vulnerable, it begins to rot from within. The moral thread that binds us together frays, and the ones who pay the price first are always the voiceless.

The people of Edirne who continue to feed and protect these cats are heroes. They face threats, ridicule, and heartbreak but they do not turn away. They embody what animal welfare truly means: courage, empathy, and relentless compassion.

A Nation at a Crossroads

These killings are unfolding against the backdrop of national change. Turkey’s revisions to animal welfare legislation is granting municipalities the power to euthanise stray animals on a mass scale.

If enacted, this will not be animal welfare. It will be systematic extermination.

We cannot call ourselves a civilised society while treating life as disposable whether it’s one cat in a garden or thousands of dogs behind shelter gates.

Silence Helps the Abuser, Never the Victim

We must speak. We must name this cruelty for what it is.
Every rescuer, every volunteer, every citizen who believes in decency has a responsibility to act.

Speak out.
Share the truth.
Demand justice for the cats of Edirne and for every animal whose suffering goes unseen.

Because silence is not neutrality. Silence is complicity.

What You Can Do

Report cruelty.
If you witness or suspect animal abuse in Turkey, report it immediately under Animal Protection Law 5199. Demand an official record, every report matters.

Support those on the ground.
Reach out to independent rescuers and animal advocates in Edirne. They are exhausted, frightened, and still fighting.

Raise your voice.
Share this story. Speak about it online, in the media, and in your communities. Let it be known that the world is watching.

The cats of Edirne matter. Their lives mattered and their deaths must not be forgotten.
Justice for them is justice for all living beings.