Istanbul orders urgent stray dog removals ahead of new school term
ISTANBUL
The Istanbul Governor’s Office has urged local municipalities to immediately collect stray animals, particularly around schools and crowded public spaces, citing concerns over public safety as the new school year approaches.
In a circular signed by Governor Davut Gül and sent to the Istanbul municipality and 39 district governorates, the office stressed that packs of stray dogs in some neighborhoods were posing “threats to citizens’ safety.”
“Especially in areas around schools and locations where citizens gather, stray animals must be collected without delay in accordance with current legislation to protect public health, public order and safety,” the directive said.
The move comes after heated debates over Türkiye’s controversial stray dog law, which replaced the long-standing "catch-neuter-release” method with mandatory sheltering and rehabilitation.
The Animal Protection Law, ratified in July last year and enacted in December, requires municipalities to collect stray animals and transfer them to shelters until adoption.
It also obliges local administrations to build new shelters or upgrade existing ones by Dec. 31, 2028, with particular responsibility falling on municipalities with populations over 25,000.
However, authorities previously underlined that the obligation to collect and house stray animals is already in effect, rejecting claims that municipalities could wait until 2028.
They also prohibited the release of rehabilitated animals back onto the streets or abandoning them elsewhere, warning that such practices contradict the law.
Within this scope, municipalities or individuals found abandoning animals now face steep penalties. Fines stand at 71,965 Turkish Liras ($1,758) per animal.
Authorities have stepped up inspections to enforce the new framework.
According to the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry, since August last year, 70 individuals who abandoned pets were fined a total of about 25 million liras ($610,881).
A total of 19 municipalities also received fines amounting to 119 million liras ($2.9 million) for leaving collected dogs unsheltered.
Ban on SMA/DMD donation stands
Separately, the Governor’s Office of Istanbul has also announced new restrictions on public donation stands for patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).
In Türkiye, families of children with SMA or DMD have increasingly resorted to setting up donation stands in busy public spaces to raise money for costly overseas treatments.
While fundraising campaigns for treatment remain permitted under the law, the governor’s office underlined that stands are not formally recognized as a legal method of collecting donations.
Thus, the directive cited high-traffic areas such as metro stations, overpasses, bus stops, marketplaces and squares as prohibited areas for these stands, citing safety concerns and public order.
The office also stressed that no form of loud or vocal fundraising will be permitted anywhere in the city.
