Open letter to the Killers of Didim
Dear Sir,
It is with despair and sadness that I read the following article in your newspaper.
http://www.didimtoday.com/local-news/altinkum-news/the-biggest-nuisance-in-altinkum-didim-beach.htm
I will try to be brief.
1. Getting the dogs off the beach and the streets will not solve the problem. Sterilizing the dogs and returning them to their territory will.
This apparently contrarian approach is the strategy adopted by the animal welfare law. Everything else is illegal, furthermore nothing else will work. Please read this for further information:
http://www.shkd.org/tr/neuter.html
2. The only reason why Didim is on the map today is because of British Tourism. It is to that public that your newspaper is addressed after all. Well.. British citizens are animal lovers as a whole. By applying illegal and inhumane policies you are shooting yourselves on the leg.
3. We are the publishers of a number of blogs and websites dedicated to the stray dog issue in Turkey
i.e. beykozkillers.wordpress.com
http://diekillervonbeykoz.wordpress.com
http://beykozkatili.wordpress.com
We also have Dutch, french and italian versions of those websites. Today, we have a combined readership of close to 61.000 individual readers… daily!
Today we have added a new blog to our portfolio http://didimkillers.wordpress.com/
From today, this blog will become the point of reference for news on Didim and Altinkum… in a matter of days it will be picked up by the search engines. Try google Beykoz Dogs:
or Muharrem Ergul (Mayor of Beykoz)
Mr. Ergul is not a happy man nowadays. Or maybe he is.. from a small time mayor he has gone to become the most famous turkish mayor in Europe, Europes most famous dog killer.
This is what will happen to Didim unless the municipality and media such as yourselves collaborate in solving the stray dog problem in a legal way. From this platform we can assure you we will do our very best to put Didim in the map (in a way you certainly will consider much more of a nuisance that those poor dogs at the beach..
I strongly suggest you hold a meeting with the local Animal Welfare charity and discuss the issue.
Kind regards
Matt Murdock
Matt your letter was SO good. Thank you for caring I do believe we may have stopped another mass kill. Congratulations to all involved because you have saved the dogs of Didim.
Tina
June 21, 2008 at 8:34 am
I have been so upset and worried since hearing of Didims dogs being taken away and possibly killed or left to starve in the mountains,
I love our family visits to Altinkum, And over the years we have got to know many of the street dogs there and always look forward to seeing them , We give them treats which of course they love to receive. We also visit the shelter which is a must, It is always kept lovely and clean, and the dogs there again are so friendly, It runs a neuter and release programme which lately has been proving to be very successful as the number of street dogs is far less than of recent years, There is absolutely no need to kill or move these dogs. They are not dangerous, they interact with people very well.
I have many happy photographs of my family with street dogs, and will be most upset if when we return later in the year these dogs will not be there. Some members of my family are so upset that they are now not coming back to Altinkum this year. And maybe they never will !
I urge the officials in Altinkum to please leave the dogs alone and bring back those that have been removed, As for any that have been killed tell us where they are , Then we can lay this to rest, Until then we will keep on fighting for Altinkums dogs.
Avril Sims
July 31, 2008 at 5:22 pm
The killers of Didim surely must now realise that we won’t give up. DO SOMETHING while you still have the chance. We will not go away until you do so be prepared!
Marcia Crow
August 7, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I was in Didim in June and I went to the dog shelter where i was pleasantly surprised by the way the shelter people were taking care of the dogs yes there are still the loveable street dogs whom are very loving and yes they bark and jump up because they are happy to see you i,ve been going to Didim for the past four years and i have never ever seen a nasty street dog I have noticed that the neuter and release system is working because there is a vast decline of puppies on the streets so that system is working to poison and dump these animals in forests and remote places is barbaric and cruel and me and my family and friends will not be returning to your country until this cruel and barbaric treatment of these dogs is stopped for good I urge you to stop this massacre because that is what it is I love those dogs and i will not stand by and see this happen yes Mr Mayor and other officials don,t blame the tourists or the Turkish people for what you have done it is you who have caused this and Yes the whole World is watching and waiting to see if this stops
Bev Hill
August 9, 2008 at 1:17 pm
What these selfish, heartless people are doing is against all that Kemal Ataturk worked so hard for . They have put Turkey back to the dark ages of cruel and unwarranted barbaric actions !
A.Sims
August 13, 2008 at 8:54 pm
WHY MR mAYOR AE YOU NOT ANSWERING THE EMAILS FROM AROUND THE WORLD i,LL TELL YOU WHY BECAUSE YOU HAVE GOT NO ANSWERS FOR WHAT IS BEING DONE IN YOUR NAME THESE DOGS ARE NOT WILD THEY ARE HOMELESS EDUCATE YOUR PEOPLE ON THE WELFARE OFANIMALS STARTING WITH THE YOUNG THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING YOU AND IS WAITING TO SEE IF THESE KILLINGS AND DUMPINGS ARE GOING TO STOP ONCE AND FOR ALL THIS IS barbaric inhumane and cruel THIS HAS TO STOP AND STOP NOW WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER TO THAT mR mAYOR SILENCE AGAIN WELL UNTILL THIS STOPS WE CAN REST ASSURED THAT WE WILL GO ON CAMPAIGNING ALL AROUND THE WORLD FOR THE STREET DOGS OF YOUR COUNTRY
Bev Hill
August 19, 2008 at 12:48 pm