10.03.2025 11:30
In Konya, 2-year-old Rana was attacked and killed by stray street dogs. While 2-year-old Rana lost her life in the hospital, some organizations that shared posts on social media after the incident announced that they had captured the dogs. Following the backlash over the claims of the capture, the organizations released a statement.
On Friday, the lifeless body of 2-year-old Rana El Selci, a Syrian national, was found dismembered in an empty lot in Konya Karatay after she went missing. It was determined that the little girl lost her life as a result of an attack by approximately 10 stray street dogs.
STATEMENT FROM THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AND MUNICIPALITY
The Konya Governor's Office stated in a press release that they were deeply saddened by the incident that occurred during the ongoing intense efforts to gather stray dogs into animal care facilities, and that a comprehensive investigation into the incident was continuing. Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca said, "Despite all attempts to obstruct us and attacks on our staff, we are collecting dogs day and night. We established our collection areas from the very beginning within the framework of the law that came into effect in August 2024. I want all our citizens to especially know that we are implementing the most intensive work plan possible to make our streets safe."
The Konya Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into the incident. While the municipality and governorate teams started working on the rehabilitation of stray street dogs in the area, those who adopted stray dogs came to the forefront again.
THEY CONFESSED
Individuals who broadcast on social media came to the area where Rana was killed and took the dogs away in their vehicles. Those who took the dogs confessed in a social media post, saying, "Friends, the incident happened near the area I feed. We went very early in the morning and took out as many dogs as we could. I took them to the area."
"THE DOGS THAT ATTACKED RANA ARE NOT"
Following these posts on social media, there was a significant backlash, and a later statement from the association said, "The public wants the dogs to be collected, and we are doing our best to collect them. If we take them, it's a crime; if we don't, it's a crime. The dogs I have neutered are the ones I have taken, and they are all chipped in my garden. Am I supposed to ask you when adopting dogs from the street? They are all in my garden; anyone who can take them can come and take them, they are all chipped. You said the dogs that attacked Rana, did you see that dog? You are talking about it. The dogs I took are not from the place where Rana was attacked; they are from 4-5 KM away from the incident site, and despite having no connection, my area was entered. Most of my dogs are in the Karatay collection area," he said.
THEY ARE CONSTANTLY REQUESTING HELP
It was revealed that those who improperly fed stray dogs in the area where little Rana was attacked were again exploiting emotions on social media by providing an IBAN account to collect money. Posts included messages like "48 hours are very critical. There is a cost of 30,000 TL. Please help, regardless of how little," "They quoted 45,000 TL for treatment. Please support," and "My child is in pain. I need 500 TL from 80 people," indicating that money was continuously being collected.