When Kindness Becomes a Crime: The Harassment of Stray Dog Feeders in India and Turkey
Feeding stray dogs is one of the simplest acts of compassion.
Across cities and villages in India and Turkey, ordinary people leave food and water for animals who have no one else to care for them.
Yet increasingly, these caregivers are facing fines, hostility, and even threats of prosecution. What was once seen as an act of humanity is now being treated, in some places, as an offence.
India: Fines, Confusion, and Social Hostility
In India, the Supreme Court has recognised the right of citizens to feed stray dogs. Yet, at the local level, rules are inconsistent and often punitive.
Dehradun: Authorities have imposed a ₹5,000 fine for anyone feeding stray dogs outside “designated zones” A resident who had fed a small group of strays outside her home for years suddenly found herself threatened with financial penalties.
Gurgaon: Court rulings mandated one feeding point per residential ward, creating confusion. In practice, animal lovers who leave food near markets or residential lanes are sometimes confronted by neighbours and warned they are “breaking the law.”
Delhi: Volunteer feeders report harassment from Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), who wrongly assume feeding strays is banned, when in fact guidelines only restrict where and how it should be done.
For caregivers, the impact is twofold: the threat of financial loss, and the emotional trauma of being vilified for kindness.
Turkey: Fear, Isolation, and Criminalisation
Turkey has a centuries-old tradition of caring for stray dogs and cats, with people leaving food and water at street corners as part of everyday life. But the 2024 national law changed everything. Instead of the previous “capture, neuter, release” (CNR) model, strays are now rounded up into shelters—many facing euthanasia. Feeding them in public has become a target of scrutiny.
In Istanbul, feeders report being shouted at or threatened with police complaints for placing food outside shops or apartment buildings.
In Ankara, volunteers say they have been told by municipal officials that feeding strays is “illegal”—even though in many provinces, no explicit ban exists. The perception alone has emboldened hostility from neighbours.
Across provinces, feeders describe a climate of fear, where leaving food for dogs can attract harassment from both citizens and authorities.
One long-time volunteer recounted how she used to leave food on the same street corner every night. Now, she says, “I do it quickly and in secret, like a criminal. People look at me with anger, not understanding that these dogs are hungry.”
Shared Struggles, Shared Harm
Though thousands of kilometres apart, feeders in India and Turkey face the same pattern of harm:
Financial penalties in India.
Harassment and intimidation in Turkey.
Public shaming in both countries.
Loss of mental peace for those whose compassion is met with hostility.
This climate of fear not only discourages kind-hearted citizens but also leaves the dogs themselves at greater risk of starvation and neglect.
A Humane Way Forward
Instead of criminalising compassion, governments should work with feeders as allies:
Clarify laws and permissions to prevent harassment caused by misinformation.
Protect feeders legally from undue penalties and hostility.
Integrate feeders into welfare programmes like sterilisation and vaccination.
Educate communities to see feeders not as nuisances, but as partners in animal welfare.
Feeding bans and misperceptions about them have done more harm to people than they have good for communities. When kindness is treated as a crime, society loses part of its humanity.
👉 Protecting stray dogs must begin with protecting the people who care enough to feed them.
