Under Fire - The Widespread Shooting of Stray Dogs in Turkey
Shot and Forgotten: The Hidden Epidemic of Stray Dogs Being Gunned Down in Turkey
Introduction
It’s a tragic but almost universal truth among those of us working with street dogs in Turkey: almost every adult dog who comes into our care has been shot at least once and many have been shot multiple times by different people in different places.
The scale of this cruelty is staggering. We routinely find bullet fragments lodged under the skin, shattered bones from gunfire, and deep, untreated wounds. Some dogs arrive paralysed, others blind or limping from injuries that healed badly. This violence is so frequent, so normalized, that it has become part of the landscape of suffering for Turkey’s stray dogs.
Why is this happening? And what can we do to stop it?
The Scope of the Problem
One of the biggest barriers to understanding how many stray dogs are shot in Turkey is the lack of official reporting. There is no national database, no central record of cruelty, and no consistent enforcement of animal protection laws.
Almost every adult dog we help has evidence of gunfire injuries not from isolated acts of cruelty, but from a pattern that repeats itself across the country. The same story emerges from countless rescues, independent veterinarians, and volunteers.
Since the introduction of the new removal law in 2024, animal welfare organisations have reported a rise in hostility towards stray dogs. The law’s language around removing animals from the streets appears to have emboldened some citizens to take matters into their own hands. We have evidence that people now feel permitted even justified in harming dogs, believing that the government’s stance has legitimised their violence. This was never the governments intention.
Municipal shelters are already overwhelmed. There are around 322 shelters nationwide, with capacity for just over 100,000 dogs, while the stray population is estimated to be in the millions. With so many animals left on the streets, they remain unprotected and constantly at risk of abuse, shootings, and neglect at the hands of individuals.
Why Are Stray Dogs Being Shot?
The widespread shooting of stray dogs in Turkey stems from a mix of fear, misinformation, cultural attitudes, and systemic neglect.
1. Public Fear and Media Scapegoating
In some parts of Turkey, stray dogs are seen as dangerous. The media often amplifies isolated incident, a dog bite, a road accident, framing dogs as a public menace. This has created a culture of fear, and in that climate, some people resort to violence.
When municipalities fail to manage stray populations effectively, citizens frustrated by their presence often take matters into their own hands. Guns are readily available in rural areas, and in the absence of accountability, cruelty thrives.
2. A Climate of Impunity
Turkey’s animal welfare laws, while existing on paper, are weakly enforced. Penalties for cruelty are minimal, often reduced to small fines, and prosecutions are rare. This lack of consequence emboldens abusers.
Since the 2024 removal law, which mandates the collection of stray dogs and their confinement to shelters, some individuals have interpreted the government’s stance as a green light for violence.
3. Inadequate Infrastructure and Resources
Even when municipalities act within the law, the system is simply unable to cope. Shelters are overcrowded, underfunded, and lacking veterinary support.
Without accessible treatment or refuge, wounded dogs often suffer in silence, carrying bullets in their bodies for years.
4. Abandonment and a Broken System
Many stray dogs were once owned, abandoned when they grew too big, became ill, or were no longer convenient. This steady flow of discarded animals keeps street populations high. The problem is not the dogs; it is a society that continually fails to take responsibility for them.
Our Experience- Every Dog a Survivor
Every dog we rescue tells the same story.
We find old bullets lodged in muscle tissue, fragments buried deep near joints.
Some dogs arrive with shattered limbs that have fused at wrong angles.
Many suffer chronic pain or partial paralysis from spinal or nerve damage.
Others limp or bear thick scars from untreated gunshot wounds.
We have seen dogs shot more than once, in different places, by different people. Each wound is a mark of human failure and yet, these dogs still trust, still seek affection, and still fight to live.
Their resilience is extraordinary. But resilience should not be a requirement for survival.
What Can We Do?
Ending this epidemic of violence requires coordinated action legal, educational, and humanitarian.
1. Strengthen Legal Protection and Enforcement
Campaign for stronger penalties for animal cruelty and for police training to ensure such crimes are investigated properly.
Establish transparent systems for recording and reporting cases of animal abuse.
Ensure the removal law cannot be used as justification for harm or neglect.
2. Expand Veterinary and Rescue Capacity
Increase funding for mobile clinics and local veterinarians to treat injured strays.
Support rescue groups and independent shelters that rehabilitate gunshot victims.
Provide specialist training in trauma care and rehabilitation for rescue workers.
3. Promote Humane Population Control (CNVR)
Catch-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (CNVR) remains the only proven, humane solution to reducing stray populations over time. Properly implemented, it reduces births, improves health, and decreases tension between animals and people.
4. Change Public Perception
Launch public education campaigns promoting empathy, responsible pet ownership, and the benefits of coexisting with stray dogs.
Challenge media narratives that portray dogs as dangerous.
Engage religious and community leaders to promote compassion and reject cruelty.
5. Document and Expose Abuse
Collect evidence of shootings and other cruelty; publish the data.
Share survivor stories to raise awareness both in Turkey and abroad.
Partner with journalists, NGOs, and international welfare groups to bring global attention to the problem.
A Call to Compassion and to Action
Every scar, every limp, every missing eye tells the same story: a life that was once targeted, yet survived. These dogs bear the weight of a national crisis not of overpopulation, but of indifference.
We cannot look away.
We cannot accept a society where shooting a stray dog becomes routine.
To everyone reading this:
Speak out when you see cruelty.
Support local rescue groups and shelters.
Educate, advocate, and show compassion in your community.
Change begins with awareness and awareness begins with stories. Let the dogs who have been shot and survived be their own witnesses. They have already paid the highest price for our silence. Now it’s time to make their suffering mean something.