20.10.2026 18:31
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi announced that efforts to collect stray street dogs have reached 99.9 percent across Turkey. Stating that work continues only in Diyarbakır and that they aim to reach 100 percent next week, Çiftçi emphasized that this rate does not mean all stray dogs have been collected. Çiftçi said that the calculation is based on estimated figures initially received from the provincial governorships, and that the process continues dynamically.
Minister of Interior Mustafa Çiftçi answered questions from Volkan Ormanlı, General Manager of İhlas Holding Digital Assets, on his return from a visit to Batman. Çiftçi shared striking information about the stage reached in efforts concerning stray street dogs.
"WE HAVE REACHED 99.9 PERCENT ACROSS TURKEY"
Recalling the efforts carried out during his tenure as Governor of Erzurum to collect street dogs, Çiftçi stated that in early November 2025, stray animals in the city were taken to shelters and natural habitats. Expressing that only Mardin had previously completed this work, Minister Çiftçi said that Erzurum was the second province.
Explaining that they accelerated efforts across the country after he began his duty at the Ministry, Çiftçi said, "As of today, we have reached a rate of 99.9 percent across all of Turkey. We are almost finished; at the moment, work is ongoing only in Diyarbakır, and once it is completed there next week, we will have reached 100 percent."
"WHEN WE SAY WE HAVE REACHED THE TARGET NUMBER, WE MEAN THE INITIAL ESTIMATES"
Drawing attention to the fact that the announced 99.9 percent rate does not mean that all stray animals have been collected, Çiftçi stated that the calculation was made based on the estimated numbers initially received from the governor's offices.
Çiftçi reported that the number of stray animals initially reported as 12,000 in Erzurum fell to a level of 6,000-7,000 as a result of field work, and expressed that the number can constantly change because animals give birth or owned animals become stray.
Noting that dog attacks occurring from time to time therefore led to criticism that the efforts had not been completed, Çiftçi emphasized that the process continues dynamically.
HE DESCRIBED THE DOG ATTACK IN ERZURUM
Recalling that a child was attacked by a dog during his tenure as Governor of Erzurum, Çiftçi said that he saw that the child he visited in the hospital had stitches on his head.
Stating that they accelerated the efforts after the incident, Çiftçi expressed that in the city, elderly people had difficulty going to the mosque, children had difficulty going to school, and women had difficulty going out, and said that stray dog packs constitute a serious problem.