February 18,
2019 by Luana Sarmini-Buonaccorsi
Istanbul
officials are increasing efforts to ensure the good health of street animals
Concerned
for the health of a black cat roaming around the university campus where she
works, Mevlude dropped off the feline at the veterinary clinic for street
animals run by the Istanbul municipality.
Visitors to
the Turkish city, who admire its centuries-old mosques and Ottoman palaces, are
often surprised to see cats and dogs making themselves at home on the streets,
and watch them taking the best seats in cafes and restaurants without a care
for the world.
Like
Mevlude, many Istanbul residents try to help these four-legged friends in their
neighbourhood, putting out bowls of food and offering shelter by their doors or
windows.
Now Istanbul
officials are increasing efforts to ensure the good health of the street
animals, and thereby of the residents who come into contact with them.
That care
can be seen at the "Vetbus", where Mevlude brought the black cat
because one of its eyes had been closed for several days.
The bus is a
mobile clinic stationed for several days in different neighbourhoods around the
Turkish metropolis.
"We
often get in touch with the municipality when we see animals who are in need of
care," Mevlude said, once reassured over the cat's health whose eyes were
now wide open.
"People
generally bring the animals that they take care of... so that they are given
anti-parasite" treatment, said Nihan Dincer, a veterinarian working for
the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB).
And
"because people are in constant contact with them, they are also
protected", she added.
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