Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Someone today has told me that all of the town dogs have been taken away by the council. They went and collected them all from the town centre this morning and took them to their compound. But they havenot got a compound yet - just land. And yet all those kind people have been putting food bases and new beds in the town for them. I so hope this is not true - why and where have the put them ? Some of them have lived there for years my friend says.
Hs anyone else heard this or knows about it - I hope it is not true.

Hope that's not true, they never seemed to bother anyone.

Sooo sorry if this is true, as I am so attached to several of the long time street dogs. Buy their parabands, high viz collars etc.I am gutted. That may explain why the kennels outside the Round Tower in Girne weren't there yesterday morning. Not allowed to use bad language on here,but to my mind they are absolute b-----ds I feel soooo ANGRY !!!!

Good, time the town was cleaned up

Bowman, so what do you think they have done with the dogs, moved them into a nice 5* doggy hotel, I don't think so, 100% destroyed as there is no pound in Kyrenia. Why on earth do you think it is ok to kill innocent animals

I seriously hope that the dogs are OK, but it doesn't sound good. All the dogs round Café George are a part of the lives of the customers. I really hope that it is not bad news. Where have these dogs gone, and to what? I dread to think.

I am in UK but have people trying to find out

Could not somebody living in Girne ask in the Belidiye where the dogs have been taken to?

Bowman what is your problem with the street dogs, have you personally ever been attacked by any of the dogs? I take it you are not a dog lover?

Bowman, I respect your view on cleaning Girne up. However, surely, the street dogs should be way down on the priority list of cleaning issues for the Belideyi to address?

thank you Tom, Yes please concentrate on the litter for a start

I believe the said dogs started to exhibit an increasingly aggressive nature towards their peer group and to mankind.
There continues to be a dog problem in TRNC. Too many wild dogs and badly cared for animals.
A clean up is good news in my opinion. Whilst I suspect the said dogs are not destined for a retirement home future the problem needed attention.
To leave them roaming the streets as strays represents no service to man nor beast.
Dog laws and rules need to be legislated and enforced for the good of all.. I doubt however that this will happen any time soon.
I need not say why!

Have been into town many many times over the last 4 years for lunch , the dogs never ever bothered us . They didnt beg for food , didnt even stare while we were eating , just laid down and went to sleep . They were part of Girne town .

Bowman wrote:Good, time the town was cleaned up

You should keep offensive remarks like this to yourself.

ardstrawray wrote:

Bowman wrote:Good, time the town was cleaned up

You should keep offensive remarks like this to yourself.

Pot calling the kettle black springs to mind.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this forum until the moderators decide to call the shots.

Dalartokat wrote:

ardstrawray wrote:

Bowman wrote:Good, time the town was cleaned up

You should keep offensive remarks like this to yourself.

Pot calling the kettle black springs to mind.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion on this forum until the moderators decide to call the shots.

Exactly, just giving my opinion.

Waz 24 .7 the elderly dogs in Girne all had ear tags so presumably had seen a vet were well fed and Ive never seen them being aggressive and in many ways reflected positively to visitors on the Beli's attitude to animal welfare along with the feeding stations and recent shelters in the car park.
I agree the problem with roaming packs and abandoned dogs is becoming an issue.

Waz 24 7 a large proportion of these dog have never harmed or posed a problem. In fact they just lay about. They are part of girne. Rubbish is the big issue. I in ten years have had no bother with any dog or dog dirt where as the rubbish is a disgrace.

' A large proportion of these dogs have never harmed anyone' !!!....İ wonder when just 1 dog harms a child,then most of you posters may change your tune !!! Regardless of whether they have been chipped they still carry diseases and fleas,and they crap where and when they like.Some people here think the dogs are Girne's answer to the pıgeons in Trafalgar Square..They are unwanted pests.Well done Girne Belidiye....İ want to come to Girne,have a coffee,knowing a flea-ridden mongrel has not been lying on my chair.And sooner or later they will hurt someone.That is their nature.
Oh,I am a dog lover,and have 2 lovely pets,both rescue dogs.Luckily İ have a large garden where they are free to wander and play.I take them out only on a lead,and clean up any mess.

Surely the ear tagged dogs belong to KAR. Has anyone at KAR been informed by the Beli as to the fate of these dogs?I am so upset about the three tubbies who have been in town for years. The two Browns and the Black and Tan bitch.
They were just part of the scene and just lay harmlessly around.
Mikelapta to me personally, who is a bird phobic, the pigeons in Girne are a huge problem. I would rather see these rats with wings culled!

Maybe KAR will make a statement on the matter.

Girne belediye recently posted pictures on their facebook page of kennels they have made complete with the Belediye symbol on them. They were positioned near the fountain behind the main office. Maybe they have been taken for health checks and will be returned. Wishful thinking?

My understanding is that KAR are investigating this as a matter of urgency - they have been trying to find out the facts, and information about the whereabouts of the dogs, since yesterday. Their community warden and other persons have now gone to find the place where the dogs were moved to.
A report will be posted on here by KAR as soon as they can.
They, along with many members of the public and forum members, are very upset about the situation but they do need to find out fact before they can report.

Thank you for all of the telephone calls and worried enquiries that we have received about the Girne town dogs.
This is what KAR have have established so far :
The dogs were removed from 2 main areas - near the Round Tower and from the top of Girne centre. 15 dogs were taken away on the instruction of Girne Belediyesi. There was no consultation with KAR ( who were totally unaware of this situation until yesterday) or any other Animal Welfare Group.
The dogs have been taken to an area that is extremely difficult to find and without a 4 wheel drive, in parts nigh on impossible to access. The directions are - coming down to Girne, on the main Lefkosia - Girne road, past the St Hilarion turning and before the 1st big bend in the road there is a dirt track to the left going up the mountain - the "site" is quite a long way up that track and is in fact a disused water depot.
There is a Belediyesi sign on the locked gates to the effect of "Temporary Dog Shelter" . The Belediyesi have provided NO kenneling or shelter for the dogs. The shelters that you can see in the photos were provided by the Girne buffe owner who is so very upset about the dogs removal. He had been caring for some of these dogs for ages. Following discussions with the Belediyesi they agreed that he could go to the "site" with them to see the dogs. They let him put the beds and kennels that were in town (that he had built) in the "site" for the dogs. However due to the location of this "site" there is no shelter from the wind, cold and driving rain. The buffe owner has tried to position the beds as best he can but they offer little protection.
The site is fenced and locked - there are no staff working there -the dogs are on their own. Due to the forced move and the amalgamation of the various dogs - who were not all part of the same group - it has been noticed that fighting amongst them has already begun.
KAR are attempting to communicate with the Belediyesi regarding the dogs removal and the conditions that they have been put in. We urge concerned members of the public to contact Girne Beledeyesi direct to voice their concerns. The contact number is 0392 8152118

That is appalling. Sounds like the Tatlisu dog compound situation highlighted a few weeks ago.
Totally disgusted with the Mayor and the Belediesi to allow this to happen. Didn't they get a lot of publicity for installing feeding stations for the street dogs.
Are they feeding these dogs or will they be left to starve?
So worried about the three tubbies from the round tower.
Have e mailed the Beli with my concerns and disgust.

Is anybody able to get this appalling act of cruelty into the Cypriot and English media and tourism outlets? I just wonder how many European visitors will reconsider their plans knowing the locals can be so inhumane to innocent animals. It would have been kinder to these dogs to have just shot them and buried the carcasses rather than trap them in a confined area and abandon them with no water, food or shelter.

I have just sent a message to the Mayor reminding him of the open meeting he held last summer and where he told us all of his concerns for the welfare and future of the street animals. He went into great detail of how the animals were going to be looked after, the staff that were going to be specially trained to do this, the kennels and runs that were going to be built for them and the medical help that was going to be on hand to treat them.
Never did he mention picking up the poor animals and dumping them in an open field with no shelter and no one to care or feed them.
We have read recently of how North Cyprus is being ''sold'' in England and other places to try and get more people to holiday here and the vast amount of money that is being spent in doing this.
Is this what this is all about?
I am disgusted with the latest happenings and extremely worried what is going to happen to these 15 dogs and concerned that these may just be the first !

BBB's other half.

BBB can you let us know the address you used to message the mayor please.

This is terrible for those poor dogs. Who is going to feed them? They were such a large part of town life. I wonder what will happen to them now? I look forward to hopefully reading some good news about them on the forum in the coming days. But it does not look good at all.

Mikelapta perhaps the Beli will come for your dogs next just incase you leave the gate open or drop the lead.
Most of the dogs around the round tower where to elderly to climb in a chair in the last 11 years Ive never seen one in a chair in any of the cafe's.
In my opinion they also kept away the more unruly packs of dogs and feral cats that run around the outlying areas .

Was so hoping that it wasn't true ......... is this the email address that we should be sending emails to ?

halklailiskiler@girnebelediyesi.com

If not please can someone put on here the right one.

Have seen on KAR facebook some more pictures - it shows 1 water and food machine the same ones as were in town and in the papers. Maybe they were also taken from the town - but who is going to fill them up ?

Poor things especially in this weather - and they were so used to having people around them and company as well.

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way animals are treated." Gandhi (attribut).

It would appear many in the TRNC and some expats living here have not come far in the field of 'greatness'.

The email address that has been put on here is the one I used. - halklaiskiler@girnebelediyesi.com. I believe this is the one that they were asking people to write to with their advice and comments after the Summer meeting on the Mayor's proposed plan for the Dog Pound . There was no mention of picking the dogs up and dumping them without shelter or people on hand to look after them.
Also I sent a message to the Mayor and his staff on the Girne Belediyesi FB page.
Anyone who cares, please do the same as one voice means nothing!
BBB's other half.

Apologies folks and to the NCCCT .
I had my other hat on when I posted the last message.
Ooops!

BBB's other half.

The KAR Community Warden and others at KAR have very strong links with the Beledere - BUT that hasn't stopped this awful thing happening. There are workers within the beledere who are just as upset about it and are trying to influence things, as a matter of priority, with the help of KAR. The man (Girne buffe owner) who made the beds for the town dogs and has since, because he was so worried about the dogs, put the beds in this "concentration camp" has a key - but he doesn't know how long he will be allowed to keep the key. He is devastated as he had been led to believe that the dogs would be well cared for in their new place. It was him who took the KAR Community Warden (and others) there this morning so they could see what is happening.
The KAR report has been passed to local media and some other animal welfare groups who are predominantly Turkish/Turkish Cypriot in the hope that additional pressure will be put on the authorities.
There are laws regarding what they should do with the strays and how they should be treated - this surely is not how that law should be interpreted. Seems as if Girne beledere has forgotten their promises of their new shelter, forgotten the laws and forgotten (or do not realise) also how strongly many people feel about animals here and their treatment.
The more people who kick up a fuss the better.
Girne this time - which beledere next time ?

Thank God for the Good man!
If he can get more locals involved this would be more effective than anything we can do but if he needs our help, whatever.
I listened at the meeting and honestly thought the proposals and the concern shown for the street animals was genuine.
We can still voice our concerns and disapproval by emailing and posting on their FB page.
BBB's other half.

Using the email address in msg 33 above, I posted the following. However, it was returned to me:

I apologise I cannot speak sufficient Turkish to write this in your 1st language. However, I share the disgust of many residing in Girne at your arbitrary decision to round up the dogs in Girne Centre and to dump them without food, water, shelter or human contact in a locked compound outside of the city with no access. I offer no threat to you but I will publicise this fact to the European tourist industry, however, whenever and by whatever method I can. Few European tourists will approve of your inhumane approach and, hopefully, most will vote with their feet and not come to the TRNC in order to prove their disgust.

I will offer a quote by Gandhi for you to consider. "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." It would appear to me you have a long way to go to secure the acceptance of the international community if you conduct animal welfare as you currently do. No wonder the RoC Government has so much positive ammunition to prove to the world how poor the TRNC record is.

If anybody can either translate it to Turkish and/or find the correct email address and forward it on, I would be most grateful.

I am getting a message failed permenantly message when using the above e mail address for the mayor.
The message option on the Facebook page is not opening either.

I have just written on a FB page of GirneBelediyesiHayranDostlariPlatformu of my concerns over the 15t dogs that have been rounded up .
This is the page that they put pictures up of the shelter they had put up in town for the dogs and also the feeding stations.
Please everyone who can post on this page and I will check the email address I used.
BBB's other half.

halklailiskiler@girnebelediyesi.com is the one I wrote on.
I think I may have missed an l out before - Sorry.
BBB's other half.

Thanks for that. This time the mail was sent. Will await response...............................!
Facebook page still not letting me message though.

Thanks for the info. I still have the original announcement leaflet in front of me regarding the meeting held on 28th September last year on which is stated that the project "will include a modern shelter for pets, etc etc plus a cemetery! And yes the e mail is spelled out by the above posting, and of course the phone number of 0392 815 2118 is given also .

Maybe this was an emergency bred out of someone being bitten last week-end (it is said!) which coluld have placed the municipality in a difficult position of claims etc but that is just conjectur.e Obviously something caused such a premature removal of the dogs.

Most people,l I am sure, are concerned for the well being of the dogs - or, shock horror gasp, is the intention to send them to the Doggy Home in the Sky a.s.a.p.

And a huge thank you to KAR for getting onto the matter as soon as they heard and giving such helpful information.

Ref message 33.Now there's a surprise message sent to the quoted e-mail address. Returned by postmaster not available!!!!!!!
Just seen explanation thanks.will try again

Spelling mistake in message 33.(which has been corrected somewhere) Please re-send to halklailiskiler@girneblediyesi.com

Let us know if it gets through.

tomsteel wrote:"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way animals are treated." Gandhi (attribut).

It would appear many in the TRNC and some expats living here have not come far in the field of 'greatness'.

A few more quotes from Ghandi..................

"it should be a sin to feed stray dogs and we should save numerous dogs if we had legislation making every stray dog liable to be shot. Even if those who feed stray dogs consented to pay a penalty for their misdirected compassion we should be free from the curse of stray dogs"

"A roving dog without an owner is a danger to society and a swarm of them is a menace to its very existence…. If we want to keep dogs in towns or villages in a decent manner no dog should be suffered to wander. There should be no stray dogs even as we have no stray cattle…. But can we take individual charge of these roving dogs? Can we have a pinjrapole for them? If both these things are impossible then there seems to me no alternative except to kill them"

“I am therefore strongly of the opinion that if we practice the religion of humanity we should have a law making it obligatory on those who would have dogs to keep them under guard and not allow them to stray and making all stray dogs to be liable to be destroyed after a certain date.”

“What I have insisted upon is a municipal by law authorizing municipalities to destroy unowned dogs. Every unlicensed dog should be should be caught by the police ....... failing such a provision all stray dogs should be shot. This simple legislation will also prevent dogs from cruel neglect.”


I think quotes from Bill Oddie might be better.

Hedge-fund

India has endemic rabies and Ghandi's comments are probably a lot easier to understand in that context.

Ah Hedge Fund....words of wisdom indeed........folk should not quote Ghandi selectively.....get your tin hat ready. I for one, am happy to have the street dogs relocated, albeit there is huge debate around the circumstances, but judgement should be reserved at this stage. As Marions pointed out, there could have been a valid reason. What I really don't get is why it is Brits who seem to condone the street dogs over here but accept the fact that it is not allowed in the UK. At the end of the day, not everyone looks after their dogs the way they should. I have seen dogs allowed to wander, not just by locals, but by expats too. If you love your dog so much look after it........and don't let it wander, or dump it. And by the way, I think the Beledeyesi missed one which was wandering up the high street today.

Hedge-fund, I will avoid an academic debate. However, consider this from a separate source: "Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats the weakest members; the last, the least, the littlest." Card. Roger Mahoney '98.

mrsgee. I fail to see your comparison to TRNC - UK. Street dogs are permitted in Turkey and that is the predominant culture here, not that of the UK. Relocation is hardly the issue here, surely! If the experienced handlers at KAR have posted fact/photos etc, why should they be doubted?

tomsteel I prefer to reserve judgement thats all. And the comparison is because it seems to me that most of the folk on here, objecting, are from the UK, so are you saying then that because they have now left UK and live here that their culture has changed also?? I am sure that the folk I know in the UK, who have dogs, would look after them, and not keep losing them. Also, I would not expect to sit at any cafe, restaurant or bar in the UK (which has been my culture for many years, but you seem to think I should adopt another), and have dogs sitting at my feet. Indeed street dogs may be permitted in Turkey, but in all my visits there I have not come across the packs that we have experienced in Girne over the past couple of years, in particular. And before anyone says, 'well you choose to live here'. yes I do, but I object to roaming dogs. Just my humble opinion of course, which I believe I am allowed to have.

tomsteel wrote:Hedge-fund, I will avoid an academic debate. However, consider this from a separate source: "Any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats the weakest members; the last, the least, the littlest." Card. Roger Mahoney '98.

mrsgee. I fail to see your comparison to TRNC - UK. Street dogs are permitted in Turkey and that is the predominant culture here, not that of the UK. Relocation is hardly the issue here, surely! If the experienced handlers at KAR have posted fact/photos etc, why should they be doubted?

Mahoney was a child molester.

I will take no sermon from a disgraced priest.

I love dogs. But I also advocate the UK way of dealing with strays.