By now you must have heard about yesterday discovery of mass dog graves in Antalya. Its all over the news and the internet.

We will not go into details of the discovery.. it is all in the articles below. In any case I will summarize it in a few words:
Municipalities go around collecting neutered dogs in a useless effort to clean up the streets before the tourist season starts. It is not only useless, it is a criminal one as those animals are protected by the Animal Welfare Law. Municipalities kill hundreds of dogs, bury them in so far away location, dogs are found by activist, pictures reach the media and the internet..

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/9046846.asp
http://www.haberler.com/antalya-da-toplu-kopek-mezarligi-bulundu-haberi/
http://www.ntvmsnbc.com/news/448138.asp

The municipality has returned to us our mobile clinics. They had them confiscated for nearly two months.
This return is in itself an admission of guilt. The municipality made use and retained our equipment and personal affairs in an unlawful way.
They only returned our equipment after our lawyer paid them a visit and clearly explained them what and who they were up against..
Amazingly they still believe we own chinese restaurants that serve dog meat and that we sell the excess dogs to evil german laboratories.

When we thought things could not get worst at Beykoz,  its administration decides a new course of action… Organize dog hunting parties led by the forest guards of the nearby Polonezkoy wildlife reserve.
A few months ago, Ergul used an unbelievable excuse, we, the volunteers were selling dogs to chinese restaurants and evil german laboratories for experimentation.
Today the excuse is of another nature: the weakened stray dogs the municipality itself has dropped in the forest have turned into dangerous beasts organized like pack of wolves and are hunting deer!!!
For God sake, don’t this people know anything about animal behaviour? Don’t those undecent and barbaric henchman have any trace of humanity left?
So… The solution? Organize dog hunting parties every evening and Polonezkoy and shoot as many dogs as possible in most cases, like the one that follows, 6 months puppies…

We thought very carefully about publishing the following pictures, but we decided that it was the best way to honour the memory of the fallen and to give some sense t their senseless death.

This dog is one of the hundreds of harmless and inocent animals that have been killed at Polonezkoy over the last few days. We reported the case to the Jandarma who inmediately made a report and started legal procedures.

The images we have witnessed have seldom been seen. They show the effect of five bullets in the body of a six month puppy. They are cruel images, a reflection of the barbarity that we are living in Beykoz today.

Should images of this nature be published in any country in Europe they would end up costing Mr. Ergul its cosy job. Animal lovers would raise as one and inmediately demand responsibilities.

Here in Turkey we really don’t know what will happen… Time will tell.

We are counting on our friends in Germany and Holland to make a stance stronger than ever and help us end this nightmare.

Mr. Ergul will be travelling to Germany in a few days to meet his friends at Meihr in the Ruhr… Let it be this a call for boycott of that trip. Tomorrow we will provide you with a detailed plan of his forthcoming trip.

We are counting on you, turkish and european animal lovers to bring the present Beykoz administration to the place it deserves, the history books.

Please contact us through the blog, we need your help.

Beykozkillers

It is surreal. In the dream world of Beykoz we have Muharrem Ergul wearing his polyester ties on CNN saying that his shelter is the best in Turkey … on the other hand in the real world, down at the Beykoz shelter we have this..

The shelter has two parts.. the front area where dogs are fenced in kennels and the back, the forest area where dogs are living in much more comfortable conditions. Yesterday we went to the woods area for inspection… this is what you will find if you go there.

The only source of food and water those animals is whatever our volunteers manage to bring. The front area of the kennels has been completely closed to our group and only visitors friendly to the municipality (believe it or not such people exist) are welcome there. Of course, such visitors never venture into the woods, where the dogs have been left to die.

I wonder when was the last time anyone called Ergul to tell him they knew what was going on.

In any other civilized country this guy would be drafting his resignation letter.. here.. well.. here he is at a nearby natural park releasing deers at the forest.. deers that, hopefully, wont be hunted down by the packs of hungry dogs the Istanbul municipality is releasing in the forest.

On one hand the pretend to preserve life.. on the other hand they are completely destroying the biodiversity they would be supposed to preserve. It is an incredibly absurd situation.

Alternatively you can send an email to him with copy to his superiors at the government:

Muharrem Ergul: mergul@beykoz.bel.tr
Prime Ministry Republic of Turkey: info@abgs.gov.tr

Press Department Interior Ministry: basin@icisleri.gov.tr

Interior Ministry Director: aaksu@icisleri.gov.tr

Berater des Innenministers: ozelkalem@icisleri.gov.tr

Public Relations Prime ministers office: halklailiskiler@basbakanlik.gov.tr

Dealing with the aftermath of the actions of that very good person, wonderful example of a human being, the honourable, the truthful and wonderful animal lover, the Mayor of Beykoz,  Muharrem Ergul.

Two days ago Muharrem Ergul sent his men to the village of Ali Bahadir Koy. Those exemplary municipal employees spread strychnine all around the village fields. Result? A massacre.. yet another one.

So this is, amongs other things, what we are doing right now… nursing by hand 11 orphans.

Muharrem Ergul’s little babies.

We are also working hard in preparing and delivering food to the hundreds of dogs dropped by Ergul in the forests of Beykoz..

There are a million things to do and we need help.

Contact us by leaving a comment on the blog if you feel you can be of assistance.

Straddling the Bosphorus, its skyline studded with domes and minarets, İstanbul is one of the world’s great romantic cities. Its history tracks back from Byzantium to Constantinople to its place at the head of the Ottoman Empire. Today it stands as Turkey’s cultural heart and in 2010, this most wonderful city will become Europe’s Capital of Culture, joining a long list of european wonders such as Florence, Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid and Stockholm.
In recent years Istanbul has deservedly earn a new nickname.. IstanCOOL.
From his office in front of the Golden Horn the Mayor of Istanbul Greater Municipality, Kadir Topbas, oversees the daily life of this city of 14 million people… and the covert extermination of some of its less fortunate citizens, the city’s population of stray dogs.

We wont go into details about the dog-hunting parties, the exile of thousands of dogs to nearby islands and similar absurdly inhumane practices carried on unsuccessfully by Topbas predecessors. Instead we will focus on the current covert and coordinated campaign carried on on most of Istanbul’s municipalities (Sisli and Kadikoy with their progressive and forward thinking Mayors, stand as honorable exceptions).
Kadir Topbas, a theologist and architect by training that reinvented itself as a politician in 1977 and became Mayor of Istanbul in 2004, has made a life mission of turning this city into a truly european city. When travelling around Europe he has become fascinated by the order and the structure of the continents wonders and the cleanliness of its parks.. and Holland’s Tulips. He also became fascinated by the fact that there are no packs of emaciated dogs laying in front of London’s National Gallery, or Florence Ufizzi.
Whilst we applaud Topbas efforts to turn Istanbul into a European-looking city, lets face it, it is not going to happen. The charm and attractiveness of this city lies precisely in the fascinating mix of Eastern and Western cultures.

What to do with Istanbul’s stray dog population? Whilst reason, statistics and legality show that the one and only way to control the population of stray dogs is the correct implementation of a broad campaign of Neuter and Return, Mr. Topbas has given tacit approval to a short term radical solution. A solution that is not only illegal but absolutely inefficient and doomed to fail. Extermination.

For all its careful observation Mr. Topbas has missed one very important aspect of European life. Europe is in love with dogs. Whilst Istanbul spends untold amounts on international promotion and Public Relations campaigns most of this money goes to waste the moment news of  extermination campaigns hit the European newsstands and the images of dead lactating dogs surrounded by a dozen of starving puppies pop up in computer screens of a network of millions of animal lovers all across the Union.
The recent event of Beykoz have shown us the far reaching power of technology. Today Beykoz is a byword for cruelty and barbarism. The sight and sounds of Beykoz and the mere mention of its mayor, Muharrem Ergul bring a shiver down the spine of millions of turkish and european citizens and is dirtying the image of this wonderful city.

Yesterday, Turkey’s largest newspaper, Hurriyet, reported yet another dog massacre in the Beykoz municipality. There were pictures of dead dogs, cats and other farm animals killed by the ravaging effects of strychnine. 11 orphan puppies were desperately trying to suckle some drops of milk out of the dead mother body whilst village kids cried at their first experience of man-made death. Angry villagers cursed the mayor of Beykoz and his team and struggle to understand why their own leaders order this massacres? This is a village of animal lovers, they cherished and appreciated those dogs laying dead at their feet. Nearby a municipal official, in an amazing display of cynicism applauded the animal-loving initiatives of its revered Mayor, Muharrem Ergul.

How long will it take for Topbas to understand that this is not the way forward? How many subtle mentions in European meetings, how many campaigns, newspaper articles and overal public embarrassment will be necessary to make him see the light? How many court cases, how many demostrations, how many calls for boycott?

European culture is more than Tulips, Modern Art Museums and shopping Malls.

We hope one day Mr. Topbas will become the true architect  this city desperately needs.

A builder of life, an architect of life.

Barely 24 hours after we reported an improvement in the situation at the Beykoz shelter, Muharrem Ergul, the Mayor of Beykoz is once again back to square one.

Yesterday Yasemin Baban, the head of our association went to the shelter to recover some of her personal property illegally appropriated by İhsan Öksüz.

Upon arrival to the shelter the security guard, an individual named Erol who barely a few days ago was happilly accepting “donations”, abruptly stopped her at the door. He was under personal instructions from Öksüz not to allow any of us at the shelter.

For an instance Yasemin considered calling the Jandarma and asking once again for their help in dealing with this situation but she decided against it. The situation was immediately reported to our lawyer and has passed to engross our legal files in our court case against Ergul.

Mr. Ergul is from Trabzon, in the North of Turkey, the Black Sea region. The people from that region as widely known as honest, honorable, hard working, industrious and strong headed. It seems we have someone here that has only inherited the last of the traits.

From this blog the Group of Volunteers of Beykoz make you a promise Mr. Mayor. This issue will never go away until you face reality, make an act of contrition and apologize to us and the world for bringing the situation to this point. It may take days, weeks, months or years, but we will never give up. Furthermore we will never allow the interest in this case to wane, on the contrary, the actions will intensify as time pass.

Mr. Erguls team has the support of Nesrin Citirik, Adanas Barbie, from then downwards he is only supported by İhsan Öksüz, the head of cleaners.  On the other hand he is facing mounting international pressure and a growing team of people working tirelessly to bring justice to this issue. Our plattform is made up by individuals from the public and private sector, diplomats, businessmen, intellectuals, academics, lawyers, doctors, publicist, media experts and an ever growing mass of normal citizens that have decided not to stay silent any longer. Furthermore this plattform has gone international, with supporters all over the European Union spreading the message tirelessly… and this group is growing day after day.

It is always a bad idea for a politician to turn an issue into a personal vendetta. Unless he resorts to the physical elimination of the problem (that is, killing us all here!), he is the party that stands to loose more in the process. Mr. Erguls career stands to be permanently damaged by all of this.

Incredibly Mr. Ergul advertises himself on his own website as a man of culture, an enlightened educator, a sportsman, an gentleman-scholar responsible for the relations of Istanbul Municipalities with the European Union.

(http://www.beykoz.bel.tr/b_kisi_detay.asp?tur=284&id=94)

It is up to Ergul himself to go down in history as the person that solved the stray dog problem in Beykoz through the correct implementation of Neuter and Return or as the man who turned his municipality (and his career) as the butt-of-all-jokes.

Ok.. here he is.. Muharrem Ergul, elected Mayor of Beykoz. Please feel free to leave a comment at the blog.. we know he reads it.

Update from Beykoz.

Yesterday the Beykoz Shelter received the unexpected visit of two inspectors representing a large community of concerned individuals.

Their findings please us to no end.

1. The dogs are being fed and watered.

2. There are no indications of new killings or of mass deportations to the forests (usual practice by İstanbul municipalities).

3. The previously hostile security team and the shelter veterinarian were polite and corteous bordering on the obsequious.

Make no mistake, Muharrem Ergul is not changing strategy willingly. This sudden change in attitude is happening thanks to YOU.

Changes are happening because of the coordinated pressure of thousands of people that have decided that enough is enough.

Here are some of the actions that have taken place lately:

- Massive email that has led into the municipality servers collapse.

- Hundreds of telephone calls

- Volunteer visits both to the Municipality and the shelter

- Visits by diplomatic envoys in Turkey. To this add a visit by our New York representative, Marijo Gillis (WAGNY) to the Turkish consul and the dispatch of a full report to Ambassador Sensoy in Washington.

- Demonstrations, both locally and internationally. The involvement of PETA Germany has been instrumental in coordinating pressure in a country where we have many, many, many friends. Thank you PETA.

- Media pressure. All major networks have repitedly reported on the dramatic situation at the shelter. The media onslaught has been continuous, forcing Ergul to assign a special team to deal with Public Relations. Unfortunately (for them) that team has proven to be a sham and has done nothing but contribute to create the biggest embarrassment in Mr. Erguls career. Advice to the Mayor: fire them all.

Our group has gone as far as producing a short advertisement showcasing the massacre to the world and the lies of the people responsible. This spot is available here:

- Legal action. No less than forty different legal complaints were presented in front of the public prosecutor in Beykoz. To this we must add the Court Case started by ourselves against the Mayor for misuse of authority.

The change has been sudden. A couple of days ago our friend Yasemin Baban went to the shelter for inspection, she carried a document with her. She was abruptly stopped at the door. The orders from the Municipality were clear.. Yasemin Baban, Berrin Olcay and that horrible foreign man (yours truly) would NEVER be allowed at the shelter. What the security guards didn’t know was that the document was an order from the judge requesting the jandarma to take a statement from the security people and disclose who was the person who gave the order to stop our entry into the shelter.

It only took a telephone call to the Jandarmerie and not only the doors of the shelter were flung wide open but the two members of the security team were brought to the Jandarma headquarters for questioning…

Thank you very much Yasemin… were the last words uttered by the security guard before being scorted for interrogation.

I guess well meet this gentleman in court soon.. him and his bosses.

Once again… this changes are happening because of YOU. Our role is just one of coordination, thats all.

Although we welcome this sudden change we must not declare victory yet. From this forum we ask you to:

- Continue the email and telephone pressure to the Mayor of Beykoz. The email of his second in command has collapsed but keep on emailing him as well.

- Under no circumstance should any volonteer group or institution offer financial help to the Beykoz Municipality. This money would certainly not reach the end user (Perla, Tyson, Pamuk… the dogs!) and this would be used by the Municipality as an indication of support by animal lovers. Any financial assistance would be a legitimation of the killings. Save that money… soon it will be needed.

-Visit the Beykoz Shelter. Visit them at any time. İnitially they established a narrrow gap for visits of one hour during the day.. this became two hours later. The news is that it is illegal to restrict the entry into the shelter at any moment in time so please.. visit Beykoz any time you want. They must allow you in, if they dont just call the jandarma.

We will be visiting Beykoz tomorrow morning. Please join us. Make this another massive visit.

Mr. Ergul, this situation will only end the moment İhsan Öksüz and Ayzer Buyuker are dismissed and replaced by someone accepted by all parties. Furthermore and to avoid a repeat of this massacre in the future we demand the signature of a binding protocol of commitment to the correct implementation of Neuter and Return in the Beykoz Municipality.

Finally, the Municipality will have to issue an apology for the slander and lies against Yasemin Baban and Berrin Olcay.

Those are conditio sine qua non for the current situation to end.

A couple of weeks ago İhsan Öksüz stated: We will NEVER allow Berrin Olcay into the Beykoz Shelter again.

NEVER SAY NEVER….

Please keep on the pressure.

Desperate Mayor asks for funds in Germany..

The Major states that:

The dogs of Beykoz dont need food!. The dogs of Beykoz need Vaccines, drugs and dewormers.
The dogs of Beykoz also need money. As much money as possible. This money will be placed
in a bank account of the municipality and (from Germany) you will be able to see that it will be spent very well.

This would sound like a sincere call for financial assistance if it came from an NGO doing direct work on the field.. but such an absurd call for funds coming from the Mayor of one of Turkeys richest municipalities? A municipality that in recent years is flush with money coming mostly from the licensing of real estate projects?

Vaccines, drugs and dewormers? That we can understand… there is a plague of disease and parasites at the Beykoz Municipality.

To Muharrem Ergul, Mayor of Beykoz
Mr. Ergul,

No more room for dodging the truth.
The Group of Volunteers of the Beykoz Shelter challenges you to an encounter in front of the media.
It is time to come out of hiding.
It is time to come clean and face the truth.
It is time to admit guilt and ask for forgiveness in front of Turkey and the world.
We are waiting.
The world is waiting.
Volunteers of the Beykoz Shelter

email: beykozkillers@gmail.com