25.10.2026 00:01
Minister of Interior Mustafa Çiftçi announced that the process of collecting stray street animals across Turkey has been completed. Stating that with the admission of a stray animal in Diyarbakır to a shelter on October 21, the targeted number was reached 100 percent, Çiftçi said that the collected animals were placed in shelters and natural habitats.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi answered questions on the agenda in a live broadcast on Lider Haber. Minister Çiftçi said the process of collecting stray street animals has been completed across Turkey.
“WE HAVE PLANNED EVERYTHING FOR COP31 IN ALL DETAIL” Recalling that the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Antalya on November 9-20, Çiftçi said he went to Antalya in recent days to see the work on site within this scope.
Noting that the conference will take place over an area of 1 million square meters and that the Ministry of Interior is responsible for the security of the area, Çiftçi said, “Nearly 100 heads of state and government, 200-300 ministers will come. 20,000 delegates are expected to come. In addition, 100,000 visitors per day are planned. Therefore, the security of each of these needs to be planned and assessed separately. As the Ministry of Interior, our General Directorate of Security, General Command of Gendarmerie, and Coast Guard Command have taken very extensive measures. 26,000 of our personnel will be on duty in the field. We have plans and security measures both on land, at sea, and in the air.”
Drawing attention to the fact that they planned the same measures for COP31 as those at the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit held in Ankara, Çiftçi continued as follows: “Antalya center is the core. The surrounding provinces are first degree, and the provinces around them are second degree. Again, our border and port provinces are third degree. In all these provinces, security, public order, counterterrorism, combating narcotics crimes, combating cybercrimes... All our teams are tightening measures toward Antalya. From the leaders' arrival at the airport, the routes they will take to the hotel, and from the hotel to the area where the Climate Summit will be held, the routes they will use... All of these have been planned. Our police officers at the airport will stand guard on a 24-hour basis. We have divided the areas where leaders, heads of government, ministers, and the delegation will stay into 5 regions. In the area where the summit will be held, we will have approximately 1,500 special operations personnel. Around 3,298 traffic police officers will be on duty. In other words, we have planned everything in all its details.”
“PATROLS CONTINUE IN THE CYBER WORLD AS WELL” Minister Çiftçi explained that crimes are no longer committed only on the street and that they have shifted to the cyber world. Emphasizing that they assess that cyberattacks may occur throughout the summit, Çiftçi reported that there are Cybercrime Combat Department Directorates within the General Directorate of Security, the General Command of Gendarmerie, Provincial Police Directorates, and Provincial Gendarmerie Commands, and that these teams continue their patrols in the cyber world as well.
Underlining that the Coast Guard Command has planned measures in Antalya, Çiftçi made the following assessment: “Together with 207 of our personnel, they will take the necessary measures at sea. Our corvette, our assault boats, our helicopters, our Special Operations teams... They too will be in the field. They too have made all their plans against any possible incident that may occur from the sea.”
“WE WILL ALLOCATE ONE AMBULANCE TO EACH LEADER, HEAD OF STATE, AND HEAD OF GOVERNMENT” Pointing out that the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) has made the necessary plans in Antalya, Minister Çiftçi provided the following information: “We have 15 AFAD teams in Antalya. 120 of our personnel have been assigned in Antalya. They worked together with the Antalya Fire Department and the Metropolitan Municipality. AFAD is also doing its part at this point. Our medical teams will also be in the field. We will allocate one ambulance to each leader, head of state, and head of government. 110 of our ambulances will be on duty there. Around 300 of our medical personnel will be in the field. 21 of our UMKE teams will be ready there. We will keep them waiting there. I mean, just in case? It is also necessary to be prepared for such emergency and extraordinary situations. By drawing lessons from past incidents, we will give each of them 1 ambulance.”
Minister Çiftçi said that under the “Law No. 2911 on Meetings and Demonstrations,” holding marches and carrying out actions in Turkey is subject to the permission of the Ministry of Interior, but they have delegated these powers to the Antalya Governorate for a period of one month.
Stating that there is a direct link between climate and security and that this has been seen more clearly recently, Çiftçi wished God's mercy on those who lost their lives in the flood disaster in Istanbul and offered condolences to their families.
STRAY STREET ANIMALS: THE PROCESS HAS BEEN COMPLETED ACROSS ALL OF TURKEY Çiftçi made the following assessments regarding the work carried out on stray street animals: “The work first began in our 51 provinces that are not metropolitan municipalities. As of August, it also began in 30 metropolitan municipalities. They established shelters and natural living areas. They collected stray street animals. They carried out their treatments and sterilizations. They carried out adoptions. Then these processes began in our 30 metropolitan provinces. As a result, on October 21, 2026, with the last street animal being taken into a shelter in Diyarbakır, this process has now been completed in Turkey. As of this Wednesday, we have reached the targeted number across all of Turkey. We have collected 100 percent of them entirely, and we have taken stray street animals into shelters or natural living areas. The animals are being fed in these areas. Vaccinations are being carried out. Adoptions are also carried out if there are those who want them.”