The population of stray kittens in Turkey has been on the increase in recent years, but it has expanded to a record level since March 2018. The main reason for this is that municipal authorities have neglected the need to persist in neutering, the only effective measure to control the numbers of strays. 

The other reason is the fees charged for neutering operations in private veterinary clinics. People who want to neuter their pets or strays they take care of on the streets are unable to do so because of the prohibitively high cost of neutering in veterinary clinics.

Let them not be born to die

As in previous years THKD will start its free neutering campaign in the coming months. Those who care for stray cats and dogs in the streets as well as people who cannot afford to have their pets neutered will be able to have them neutered free, with THKD paying for the cost of the operation. The surgery will be done in THKD approved clinics, each of which will have a specific quota. The new round of the campaign will start as soon as we have sufficient funds for it. Currently we have a number of small scale campaigns in some rural areas.

Almost every single day we find sacks, plastic bags or cardboard boxes left in front of the gates of the shelter: each one contains groups of five or six kittens, some with their mothers, some without.