We Will Not Let Animals Freeze: Why We Are Feeding Despite Prohibitions
Turkey is currently experiencing severe winter conditions, with sub-zero temperatures across vast regions of the country. Snow blankets forests, mountains, rural plateaus, and high-altitude villages. For stray dogs and cats living in these environments, this is not simply harsh weather it is a fight for survival.
At a time like this, withholding food and water is not neutral. It is dangerous.
Winter Is a Life-or-Death Emergency for Stray Animals
When temperatures drop below freezing, animals burn energy at extreme rates just to stay alive. Without regular access to food:
Body temperature drops rapidly
Immune systems collapse
Weak, young, elderly, and injured animals die first
This winter is not a temporary cold snap. Prolonged sub-zero conditions mean cumulative suffering and death for animals already living on the edge.
Forests and Mountains Are Not Safe Havens in Winter
There is a persistent myth that animals can simply cope in forests.
In reality:
Makeshift shelters collapse under snow
Wind cuts through trees and exposed slopes
Animals sleeping on frozen earth lose heat rapidly
Deep snow traps animals far from help
Many dogs and cats are forced to leave forests and descend toward towns and roads, increasing the risk of traffic accidents, conflict, and further abuse.
They are not moving closer to people by choice they are fleeing the cold.
We are not complying with directives that prohibit feeding stray animals when those directives have no basis in law.
Law 5199 exists to protect animals.
It recognises animals as living beings and places a responsibility on society to safeguard their welfare.
At a time of extreme cold, feeding is not optional. It is a minimum act of protection.
Starving animals during sub-zero temperatures is not management.
It is not safety.
It is not humane.
Feeding Saves Lives Especially Now
Food is not just nutrition in winter. It is heat, strength, and survival.
Regular feeding:
Enables animals to regulate body temperature
Prevents hypothermia and starvation
Reduces desperate movement into dangerous areas
Lowers mortality during prolonged cold spells
Withholding food in these conditions directly increases death rates. There is no ethical or legal justification for that.
This Is the Moment Animals Need Us Most
Dogs and cats cannot challenge directives.
They cannot ask for legal clarity.
They cannot survive weeks of freezing temperatures without help.
We can. And we will act.
We will continue to:
Feed animals in forests, mountains, and rural areas
Provide water where sources have frozen
Support emergency interventions for animals already collapsing from exposure
Not in defiance of the law but in line with it.
Law 5199 Is Clear: Protection Comes First
Animal protection laws exist for moments exactly like this.
Winter emergencies demand action, not abandonment.
Silence and inaction cost lives quietly, far from public view.
We choose protection.
We choose responsibility.
We choose to stand with animals when survival depends on it.