Please Don't Visit Turkey
Turkey is among UK tourists' favourite holiday spots, attracting visitors through expensive advertising campaigns that tout the country's best features. The official advertising campaign, "Turkey Is Just Fun", depicts a harmonious atmosphere free of any unpleasant sights, stresses or cruelty. The vibrant campaign is seen in the UK and in other countries through print and TV ads. However, the campaign leaves out one cruel detail: the suffering of homeless animals, which is due in part to tourism.
Every year, Turkey's streets are "cleaned" before the tourist season starts. Dogs are poisoned or taken to garbage dumps. Often, they are transported to remote areas (where most of them die of thirst or starvation), or they are taken to extremely crowded shelters, where they are simply forgotten. Most of this occurs out of the sight of tourists.
What You Can Do
Please make it a point not to visit Turkey. Also, please ask Turkish officials to begin to deal with animal welfare issues in a professional and consistent manner.
Send an e-mail to Turkey's minister of culture and tourism, Ertuğrul Günay, using the form below. Tell him that you will not visit Turkey as long as conditions for animals remain as dire as they are.
