Ankara police have instructed municipalities in the Turkish capital to round up stray dogs before a NATO summit on July 7-8, according to an official letter requesting measures to prevent disruptions during the gathering.
The Ankara Police Department sent the letter to the Directorate General of Nature Conservation and National Parks, the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality and several district municipalities ahead of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit.
The document asked local authorities to remove stray dogs from routes that will be used by summit delegations as well as from the vicinity of event venues, airports and hotels where participants will stay.
According to the letter, the animals should be rounded up before the summit in a manner that prevents any disruption to summit-related activities. The police department also instructed municipalities to assign personnel to work in the field during the event and submit the names of designated staff to its Coordination Branch Directorate by June 20.
The letter was sent to the municipalities of Akyurt, Çubuk, Pursaklar, Keçiören, Altındağ, Çankaya, Yenimahalle and Etimesgut in addition to Ankara’s metropolitan municipality.
In 2024 Turkey adopted a controversial law expanding municipalities’ authority to remove stray dogs from the streets and put them in shelters. Animal rights groups and opposition politicians criticized the legislation, warning that it could lead to the mass confinement or killing of animals, while the government said the measure was necessary to address safety concerns and improve control of the stray dog population.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi has strongly backed the ongoing efforts, declaring that the stray dog problem will be fully resolved nationwide by the end of the year.
He emphasized that there would be “no concessions” on the issue and that collection efforts would be accelerated to reach 100 percent nationwide. Çiftçi, who previously succeeded in clearing stray dogs from Erzurum, one of the biggest cities in Turkey, during his time as governor there, framed the policy as serving both public safety and animal welfare by moving dogs into shelters or designated natural living areas.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) petitioned the Constitutional Court in August 2024 to annul most of the law’s provisions, arguing that it violated the right to life and contradicted international agreements. But the court rejected the challenge in May 2025, leaving the law in force.
The government says the law is necessary to address public safety concerns, particularly after reports of dog attacks, traffic accidents and the risk of rabies.
Animal rights advocates, however, say the authorities should focus on mass sterilization, vaccination, adoption and stronger municipal services rather than large-scale collection campaigns that could leave animals confined in overcrowded or poorly monitored shelters.