Footage filmed in Eyüpsultan, Istanbul, shows a municipal street-animal collection team attending a residential area following what the person filming says was a complaint.
During the exchange, a municipal worker explains why the dogs are being collected. He refers to what he describes as a general directive from the Governorate and says that stray animals wandering the streets must be collected. He then says that this also applies to free-roaming animals found in gardens, or animals that are not properly restrained.
According to the translation, the worker says, “Our governor states that stray animals wandering the streets must be collected. Any free-roaming animals found in gardens or any animal not properly restrained will be taken away.”
The reference to gardens is significant. The collection of unowned dogs from public spaces is already taking place across Türkiye, but a dog on a public street and a dog within a garden are not the same thing. The footage raises questions about how broadly collection instructions are being interpreted and applied at local level.
Dog Desk Animal Action has not yet located the Governorate directive referred to by the worker, so we cannot confirm whether his description reflects its precise wording. What we can document is what a municipal worker says on camera while an Eyüpsultan street-animal transport vehicle is present.
The recording also captures an extraordinary exchange about filming the operation. The person recording asks whether the footage can be downloaded and shared on social media. The worker responds, “You can download it and share it wherever you like. But be warned, I’ll file a lawsuit against you.”
The person filming continues recording .
The video does not establish what subsequently happened to the dogs and we will not speculate. What it does provide is a direct record of a municipal animal-collection operation and an explanation from a worker involved about how he says the rules are being applied.
If dogs within gardens are being included in collection operations, there needs to be clarity about the legal and administrative authority for doing so, the circumstances in which a dog can be removed and how the distinction between an unowned street dog and an animal being kept on private property is being made.
There is also a wider issue here. Municipal animal collection is an exercise of public authority. How those powers are being used is a legitimate matter of public interest. People documenting what happens on the ground should not be deterred from doing so by threats of legal action.
The footage can be watched below.