Animal Friends of Turkey (AFOT) desperately needs your help. 

Turkish animal rights have been steadily changing for the worse and after an awful attack on a 4 year old child by two pit bulls, December 2021 saw the Turkish President enforcing a new law to cruelly and callously round up ALL street dogs. These dogs were then dumped in the most horrific disease ridden, filthy shelters – death camps – or taken to isolated areas without food or water and left to starve. There were mass burials of dogs who had been drugged and buried alive.

The Turkish President was forced to retract the law due to public outcry as it was against their own laws and the Muslim religion which says that dogs have “a right to roam” and locals should feed and care for them, making the streets a place of safety. Tragically, it was too late for hundreds and hundreds of dogs who had already been brutally slaughtered.

A “Banned Breed” list still remains and owners of dogs on it were given just one month to have their dogs chipped, registered,  neutered and muzzled, or face a fine in excess of £1000. This led to many dogs being abandoned, all of which are being barbarically rounded up by the Turkish authorities. These dogs having lost their homes & unable to leave the country are destined only to a life of suffering in these Turkish death camps.

Incredibly, dogs that remotely resemble a bull breed even though not on the banned list, are also being cast out due to the ignorance of their owners.  Breeds that are cherished here in the UK. 

One such breed is the Boxer dog and there has been an influx of Boxer dogs being found abandoned, terrified, starved, totally unprepared for life on the streets. Some have been used for breeding and are in horrific condition having lived the  whole of their lives in cruel breeding farms churning out litter after litter, now no longer needed due to lack of demand.

Boxer dogs are a gentle, playful breed, extremely loyal and good with children, often described as the ‘Peter Pan’ of dogs, they live their whole lives as puppies, and are a breed particularly dear to a number of the AFOT committee. Since we began in 2018 AFOT had taken in just three Boxers. In the last month we have taken in six. All were severely emaciated, full of disease and the bitches had been repeatedly bred. 

NEL – Rescued in an appalling condition, she has Harderian Gland Hyperplasia of the eye and  will need urgent surgery to save her sight. Used for breeding, it’s probably all this girl has ever known yet she was so thankful for being rescued she hasn’t stopped wagging her whole body. 

NORA – Obviously used for breeding, she’s had several litters. She has a blood disease called Anaplasta caused by the thousands of ticks, fleas and flea eggs she was crawling with, causing kidney problems and a low immune system. She needed urgent dental treatment to remove a wire inserted into her gums – often used with a stick, twisted and pulled to punish the dogs – she has multiple broken and loose teeth which will need more surgery and eye ulcers and cataracts which will also need surgery to insert compact implants to prevent blindness.

STELLA – Abandoned and on the streets she was absolutely starving and devoured the food used to lure her to our rescuers. She was terrified of human contact and had evidently suffered terrible abuse at the hands of humans. She was so scared at the vets when she went for her initial assessment they put her in a quiet store room where she hid amongst all the boxes of equipment. 

MILDRED – She had recently had pups and was still leaking milk, with fresh open wounds from having been neutered in the shelter. She is severely emaciated, has blood parasites and open sores in her mouth. 

HARRIET – This gentle, sweet girl has also been used for breeding and her teats are hanging down from being intensively bred. She is malnourished, frightened and bewildered.

ALBERT – Found abandoned in a rubbish tip where drug users, dealers and dog fighters go, he was suffering from malnutrition, has joint and bowel issues as well as Leishmania. This effected his skin with open sores and particularly his ears which were in a terrible state, he needs ongoing veterinary treatment and care. 

Long term, AFOT would like to open a shelter specifically for dogs on the banned breed list but until then, we can only help those in our care. We need £6000 to cover the intensive and ongoing veterinary costs, foster care and travel fees to their new UK forever homes which  AFOT will find for them when they have recovered from the horror which is all they’ve ever known. Can you help us?

As a UK registered, non-profit, volunteer run charity (number 1182513) we rescue dogs with little or no future, rehabilitate them mind, body & soul and rehome them with loving forever homes in UK where full lifetime backup is given to our adopters. Our dogs are always our family.