The menacing and ubiquitous presence of stray dogs in Türkiye's forests where wildlife is protected and preserved has posed an altogether different matrix of social and ecological issues.
As wild species may be easily susceptible to infectious diseases, dogs can become a fatal agent in spreading diseases to wildlife. Rabies is the major disease found among the canine population as well as canine distemper. These two problems, when compounded, become a formidable threat to wildlife.
Professor Ahmet Koca, faculty member of Isparta University's Applied Sciences Hunting and Wildlife Department and president of the Wildlife Association, said that he was informed that the dogs left in forest areas cause a threat to wildlife, and have even attacked brown bears, the largest species in the country.
Koca told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they have been conducting intensive fieldwork in forested areas for about 10 years. "Dogs function like any other predators in a landscape. The important thing to understand is that their numbers are much higher than any other wild predator, as they are carnivores."
People generally adopt dogs to make their children happy or to be the envy of their friends, but the canines are later abandoned on the street or in the forest because it becomes difficult to take care of them.
Pointing out that it should not be forgotten that dogs are domesticated species, Koca said: "Unfortunately, these species do not have many instincts that help them survive in the wild. For example, wolves know how to feed and survive in nature; it is instinctively within them."
Pointing out that dogs do not know which animal they should attack to feed, Koca said: "Dogs can attack all species in nature. They can attack all of them, whether they can kill or eat them. Recently, our association was informed that dogs also harmed brown bears, which shocked all of us."
Warning that wild species in nature may become extinct if no precautions are taken, Koca said: "These dogs should first be neutered after being collected from the forest. Then the animals should be placed in shelters and kept under strict control."
