Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı stated that although the exact number is unknown, there are approximately 4 million stray dogs in Turkey, while the number of ‘rabies risk contacts’ has doubled to half a million.
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı made evaluations on the problem of stray dogs, which has been the subject of discussion in recent days, on his social media account X.
Minister Yumaklı stated that the problem of stray dogs is based on the fact that there is no person or institution that legally takes responsibility for the animals.
Yumaklı noted that the number of stray dogs is estimated to be close to 4 million, and that dogs can give birth 1-2 times a year, giving birth to an average of 6-8 puppies each time and constantly changing their location.
The Minister said that due to these reasons, local administrations are unable to keep accurate records and the exact number cannot be determined.
Average 260 thousand sterilizations
Yumaklı gave the following information: “According to scientific data, it is possible to control the proliferation of stray dogs by sterilizing 70 percent of the total number within a year. However, an average of 260,000 dogs have been sterilized in the last 5 years and a maximum of 350,000 in a year.”
‘High risk of rabies’
The minister stated that the World Health Organization has defined Turkey in the ‘high risk’ category in terms of rabies risk and said, “Many countries issue travel warnings to their citizens coming to our country against the risk of rabies and the dangers caused by stray dogs.”
438 thousand contacts with rabies risk!
Yumaklı wrote the following: “According to the data of the Ministry of Health, while the number of rabies risk contacts, including pets, was 267 thousand on average between 2018 and 2022, this number nearly doubled in 2023 and reached 438 thousand. It is obvious that this picture is frightening in terms of human life and health. (…) According to the data of the Ministry of Interior, 55 deaths and 5,147 injuries were recorded in 3,534 traffic accidents involving animal collisions in the last 5 years. All the common sense discussions, opinions and suggestions on this problem made in the public in recent days are extremely valuable to reach the right solution. I believe that our country will overcome this problem with the realistic solution suggestions of experts, especially scientists, and the support of our citizens.”
