Two separate and much publicized videos of a couple of people shooting dogs recently have created uproar among Turkish animal activists, with calls for stiffer punishment for animal cruelty. In the first case, a police officer in the western coastal city of İzmir shot a dog from 2 meters in front of the station. When questioned about the act, he said the dog had "annoyed" him because it was wandering around in the police station's garden. The dog was taken to a veterinary hospital by other officers working at the station who had reportedly been feeding the dog named "Efe" for three years. The officer later recanted his testimony, arguing that he shot the dog by mistake while checking his gun. İzmir Governor Mustafa Toprak said a complaint had been filed against the officer. In a message on Twitter he said: "Security officials' inhuman action is unacceptable. The bullet shot at the dog has been directed at our own hearts and is an attack against society."Meanwhile, in the northwestern province of Edirne, a man who shot and killed a guard dog of a construction site told police that he had succumbed to anger after the dog bit his 11-year-old son. The man, who shot at the dog four times with a rifle, said he regretted his actions but accused the managers of the site of ignoring his repeated complaints about the dog. The police said the investigation into the matter is ongoing.