A man died in the historic district of Fatih, in the heart of Istanbul, after being attacked by several stray dogs: an event that has once again shocked Turkish society and reopened the debate on what to do about the growing population of stray dogs, which have been responsible for several attacks with victims in recent years.
Turkish media reported that Ayhan Özçelik, a 40-year-old mentally disabled man from the Esenler district, was visiting relatives in Fatih when he was attacked in the early hours of the morning on a street in the Sümbül Efendi neighbourhood – near the city’s historic walls – by a pack of stray dogs.
The incident occurred early yesterday morning and left Özçelik with serious injuries to his face and neck. The man was found on the ground, covered in blood and with almost no clothes on, by municipal workers, who after managing to chase the dogs away they alerted the emergency services. Unfortunately, the victim eventually died in hospital due to blood loss.
‘This is not the first time these dogs have attacked’
In statements to the press made by Burhan Özçelik, the deceased’s older brother, he explained that there were between 5 and 6 dogs that attacked his brother. ‘They left serious wounds on his neck and head. They left him without clothes. These same dogs had already attacked the son of some relatives about a month ago, and two weeks later they attacked a girl. This is not the first time these dogs have caused harm,’ he said.
‘Around 5 a.m., the trash collectors heard noises and were attacked by the dogs; they managed to chase them away with sticks and called an ambulance. The garbage collectors, who knew us, took a photo of my brother and sent it to our cousins, and after seeing it, we immediately went to the hospital… But he had already passed away at 2-3 in the morning. The dogs were barking and all over him. If the garbage collectors had not intervened, the dogs would have kept biting him until dawn,’ Burhan said. The incident was recorded by a security camera, which captured the moment the attack took place.
This new attack in Istanbul is likely to reopen the debate on how to tackle Turkey’s problem of stray dogs roaming the city streets. A reform of the animal abuse law proposed by the AKP party raised the idea of euthanising street dogs that are caught and not adopted after 30 days; however, the controversial proposal was eventually withdrawn after protests and criticism from numerous citizens, animal rights groups and veterinarians.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
