ANKARA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- When you come to Istanbul, Turkey's largest city with a population of about 15 million, if you only go to the Bosphorus, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace, which are Internet celebrity check-in places, and do not contact the special "citizens" such as stray cats and dogs on the streets, it will be a bit "OUT". Look at them: pacing leisurely under the blue sky and white clouds, falling asleep when you are sleepy and tired, being hungry and being fed, safe and worry-free, eating and drinking, a good "fan" of leisurely and comfortable......
"Unique Scenery"
According to the literature, hundreds of years ago, during the Ottoman Empire, there were many stray dogs in the streets of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Judging from archaeological finds, stray dogs "swaggering" in Constantinople can even be traced back to the earlier Byzantine Empire. In 1867, the American writer Mark Twain described it this way in his Turkish observations: "Dogs sleep in the streets, and the city is full of ...... Even when the Sultan (supreme ruler) himself came, they never gave way. ”
According to Burak Basken, a volunteer with the Turkish Animal Rights Alliance, the number of stray cats and dogs in Istanbul alone is conservatively estimated at 500,000, while the number of stray cats and dogs in the country is in the millions. The reason why Turkey's cities are able to accommodate such a large number of stray dogs and cats is that the local society is very tolerant of them, and people have become accustomed to living under the same sky with them. These stray dogs and cats have become considered members of the city and community, and it is widely believed that they have the right to move freely and enjoy a life without constraints.
According to a survey conducted by the Turkish Ministry of the Interior, nearly seven out of ten Turks believe that stray cats and dogs do not pose a threat to people's safety. Ankara citizen Umut Ozru and his wife are animal lovers who often feed stray cats and dogs, and have adopted several stray cats. Sud Shimshek, a student at the Middle East University of Technology, told reporters that stray cats and dogs should receive more social care, and as long as they are properly managed, they have "no problem" coexisting with citizens.
Interestingly, in a relatively friendly and relaxed social atmosphere, stray cats and dogs have also found their place, adapted to the "rules of survival" of human society, not only learned to cross the road, wait for red lights, take buses, and interact with pedestrians on the street friendly, and even appear from time to time in high-end places such as commercial buildings, hotels, convention and exhibition centers, if white-collar workers, dignitaries want to relieve pressure by petting cats and dogs, this demand can be fully met. It can be said that stray cats and dogs have become a "unique landscape" in Turkish cities.
"Civil rights"
However, no matter how unique and beautiful this scenery is, it will inevitably bring more or less trouble to people living in the city, and there have even been cases of stray cats and dogs attacking citizens and injuring and dying. In order to balance the relationship between urban governance and the protection of the rights and interests of stray cats and dogs, the Turkish government has put a lot of effort into it. After years of intense discussions, the Turkish parliament passed legislation to protect stray animals in 2004 and 2021 to ensure that their rights and interests are protected without causing too much negative impact on the lives of citizens.
According to the relevant animal protection law, the abuse and sale of stray cats and dogs will be severely punished, and local governments need to allocate special funds from the budget for the protection and management of stray cats and dogs, including the establishment of stray cat and dog shelters, specialized clinics, etc. In addition, the government needs to register and manage the gender, age, and place of belonging of stray cats and dogs, and enter the information into a chip and install it on stray cats and dogs, which is equivalent to handling an "ID card" for each stray cat and dog, so that they can be screened and managed at any time.
In addition to obtaining "identity cards", the government also needs to conduct regular medical examinations, vaccinations, sterilization and safety assessments for stray cats and dogs in the jurisdiction to confirm that they are not aggressive to humans. In Istanbul, don't be surprised to see a puppy with a green mark on its ear, which means it has been vaccinated and spayed. Since 2004, more than 2.5 million stray dogs and cats have been sterilized and more than 3.2 million stray dogs and cats have been vaccinated.
Thanks to the government's efforts, the "civil rights" of stray cats and dogs have been significantly protected, and there have been very few cases of stray cats and dogs attacking citizens on the streets of Turkish cities. In order to better manage a large number of stray cats and dogs, many non-governmental organizations and volunteers have also taken active action to assist the government in discovering, sheltering and treating those sick, injured and disabled stray cats and dogs, and at the same time popularizing the common sense of animal protection laws to the general public, and teaching the public to identify stray cats and dogs that have undergone sterilization and vaccination.
Social controversy
In Turkey, the happy life of "cats" and "wangs" is emotional: this is the paradise of stray cats and dogs. In fact, they are also rainbows that have experienced wind and rain.
The darkest history that stray cats and dogs in Turkey have ever experienced happened in 1910. At that time, in order to solve the "dog problem" in Constantinople, the Ottoman authorities banished tens of thousands of stray dogs to a nearby desert island with no food. Legend has it that the heart-rending wails of dogs from desert islands drifted across the ocean and back to the city of Constantinople. Before the legislation to protect the rights and interests of stray animals in this century, there were also large-scale poisoning of stray cats and dogs in Turkey.
Today, despite the law, the Turkish government still has a lot of work to do to balance urban governance with the protection of stray dogs and cats. For example, it is not easy to catch stray dogs for physical examination, vaccination, sterilization, etc., they can identify government vehicles and run away immediately. The number of stray cats and dogs continues to grow due to the fact that neutering operations cannot cover all stray cats and dogs, and the number of stray cats and dogs continues to grow......
At present, it is difficult for any official agency in Turkey to provide accurate data on the number of stray cats and dogs. After a few years ago, after a case of stray dogs attacking citizens and causing injuries or even deaths, there has been a fierce debate in the society about whether stray dogs should be centrally sheltered and managed, and the Turkish parliament is discussing the revision of the relevant laws. However, due to the large amount of money and manpower required to move forward with this work, it is expected that the bill will be less likely to pass the parliamentary vote.
Although there is debate in Turkish society about the treatment of the growing number of stray dogs and cats, most people believe that they should be accepted in a more friendly and tolerant manner. I wish the "cats" and "Wang Xingren" to continue to live happily here.