Turkey: Man who secretly entered dog shelter taken to anti-terror bureau

The head of an association that helps vulnerable animals and fights against cruelty to animals was arrested in Turkey after he recorded images of two starving stray dogs killing a third in the animal shelter of a municipal administration, led by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and after he allegedly called the mayor, "murderer."

After being held in police custody for a day in the central Anatolian city of Konya, Hayrettin Bulan told Independent Turkish that he had been handcuffed behind his back and taken to anti-terror bureau, and was accused both of "violating workplace privacy" over the images he recorded, and of "insulting" the mayor.

He said that after he had found a way to enter the shelter, he had come face to face with starving dogs that tried to actually feed on each another.

"They've filled 4.500 dogs in that place," he went on. "Nobody knows how many were killed, or how many had eaten each other, because the municipal administration of Konya has not let any visitors in the shelter for three years now."

He continued:

"Some looked like they were starving to death, and there was no food around. They were in terror. Some had wounds. There was nobody to care for them. Not a single employee is left after 4:30 PM. Only security guards remain in the place after 4:30 PM and they never intervene in the shelter. What I did was to tell about the situation (...) We call this place 'Konya Metropolitan Municipality's Animal Rehabilitation Center,' but it's actually a 'dog prison,' a death camp. It's like the camps where the Nazis starved Jewish children and killed them."

The shelter was brought to public attention in Turkey after images of a municipality employee killing a dog by hitting it with a shovel started circulating in social media.