Municipality denies poisoning stray dogs after social media furore

SAKARYA

A municipality in northwestern Turkey has denied reports on social media that it is responsible for the poisoning of stray dogs, Doğan News Agency has reported. 

The statement came after footage began spreading on social media showing locals helping stray dogs which had reportedly been poisoned by municipal workers in the Kırkpınar neighborhood of Sapanca district.

Sapanca municipal patrol chief Aydın Yıldız said there was no connection between the municipality and the poisoning of the stray dogs.
 
Yıldız also said municipal police had arrived at the scene of the incident following the reports, adding that the footage was saddening.

The patrol chief noted that Sapanca had become the first district in Turkey to open a rehabilitation center for dogs, adding that it was upsetting that some were accusing the municipality of poisoning stray dogs.

Concerned citizens brought four dogs that had been poisoned to a veterinarian, but one dog succumbed due to what it had ingested.

Earlier, at least eight animals, including stray dogs and cats, were found dead in the Güzelbağ neighborhood of the southern province of Antalya, with residents suspecting the animals were deliberately fed poisoned meat.