Amid public outcry due to the spate of stray dog attacks, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey may "pay a serious price" without sterilization of dogs and other measures.

Erdoğan was answering questions of the youth at an event to mark May 19 Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day held in the presidential library in the capital Ankara on Thursday when a participant asked about his opinions on the attacks. The president said the local municipalities should do more to shelter stray animals and criticized Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) on the issue. "Other municipalities like Konya, Beykoz district in Istanbul have superb shelters. Istanbul municipality should do the same," he said.

The president, a dog owner himself, said sterilization was "essential" to address the problem. "Turkey can pay a serious price if it does not curb unlimited proliferation of stray animals," he said. The president noted that he instructed Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to take necessary steps, including joint efforts with municipalities for sterilization and other measures. "Certainly, we are concerned about (potential) attacks on our children. No parents can accept it, they cannot ignore it out of their love for animals. We need to be realistic. We have to take protective steps," he said.