Ankara Metropolitan Municipality: The footage is from a private clinic three to four years ago

“On December 25, 2025, some social media accounts shared regarding the ABB-affiliatedKarataş Animal Shelter and Rehabilitation Center, the statement titled‘Explanation regarding the allegations’ is asfollows:

“The account operating on social media platforms under the username‘dokuzolmaz’An individual named A.K., who on December 20, 2025, shared a video of unknown originaccompanied byvisuals that they claimed belonged to the Karataş Animal Care and Rehabilitation Center, which, as a result of investigations conducted by authorized bodies, was found to have noconnection whatsoever to our municipality,wasrevealedto be.has made posts that were put forwardThe aforementionedindividual A.K. came to our facility on December 19, 2025, andrefused to sign the visitor log, which is a routine and mandatory practice for all visitors,disregarding the facility rules andwanted to tour the area without permission. He was approached with the necessary courtesy and common senseshown, accompanied by a veterinarian and withoutany intervention, they were allowed to tour the sectionsthey requested. All camera recordingsregarding this visitare completelyin our center'sis within itsstructure.

"Itwas reported that no irregularities were found"

In the followingdays, the sameindividual continued to share unverified, unsubstantiated claims based on hearsaycontinuously.is.In order to prevent the formation of a false perception in the public,our municipality issued an official statement on December 25, 2025,andannounced to the public that the sharedfootage was under investigation.Furthermore, within the scope of Article 17 of the Animal Protection Law No. 5199, the warehouses of our Karataş Animal Shelter and Rehabilitation Center were inspected by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on December 25, 2025, at 16:30, and we were officially notified that no irregularities were found as a result of the examinations and evaluations.

"No medical waste from the Karataş Shelter has been not removed”

The allegations in question are being investigated in all aspects by the MetropolitanAn inspection process was immediately initiated by our metropolitan municipality on December 25, 2025,andfurthermore, an ex officio investigation was opened by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on December 26, 2025, against the unit officialsinquestion. On the other hand, the currentMedical Waste ControlRegulationIn accordance with theprovisions,all procedures regarding the disposal of medical waste without harming human and environmentalhealth are carried out exclusively through organizations authorized by the Ministry.Alloperations areconducted.is being carried out. In this context, medical waste is collected by officialsevery morning at 09:00 by arriving at the shelters, and the medical waste at the shelter isreceived from the assigned personnel with a report. However, from the date the incident came to the public'sattentionuntil this morning, no medical waste has been taken out of the Karataş Animal Shelter and Rehabilitation Center at all.has not been removed. Camera recordings regarding this matter are also available.

"Smear campaign"

The reason for thesaid procedure is to clarify the allegations that animals were being euthanized at the Karataş Animal Shelter,by applying to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestryto request that the animals in question be sent for autopsy for toxicological examination in accredited laboratories. As of this morning,Ministry officials arrived at the center and took the necessary samples to initiate the officialprocess.Within the scope of theinvestigationbeing conducted, it is being determined how,in what manner, and wherethe video in question was filmed.As for the initial findings obtained regarding the incident; on December 27, 2025, the Department of Veterinary Affairs began their duties as a veterinarian in April 2015, H.İ., whostarted working as a veterinarian in April 2015, H.İ., yexpressed their conscientious discomfort regarding the smear campaignconducted against them and applied to our administration, explaining the event inall its aspects with verbal, writtenand visual evidence.is.

"The footage is from three to four years ago at a private clinic"

In the petition he preparedin his own handwriting and the questioin line with the evidence presented within the scope of the investigation in summary, that an individual named R.K.had been threatened for a longtime, and thattheindividual in question was [associated with] the Gölbaşıthat they worked at the Animal Care and Rehabilitation Center during theperiod,and thatthey were askedto provide written or visual data that could be used against our municipality. H.İ. statedthatno such data existed.H.İ. further stated thatthat all operationsconducted in ourcenters arecarried out in accordance with current lawsand regulations,despite stating that threats and harassment have increased following guidance, an anonymous account was openedhas stated. The video circulated on social media is from three to four years ago, and belongsto a vehicle that came to collect medical waste from a private clinic operatingin Ankara, and that theseimages are not from Karataş.did not belong to the shelter, and that they could not foresee theconsequencesthat this videowould lead to, and that they deeply regret what happened, as theyopenlystatedin their declaration.is.

"The allegations were persistentlymaintained"

On December28, 2025, based on thewritten petitionin questionand the evidence presented, the metropolitanThe matter has been referred to our LegalCounsel's Office for the purpose of filing a criminalcomplaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor'sOfficeby our metropolitan municipality. We would like to specificallyunderline the following point: Our municipality takes the allegationsFrom the moment it was first brought up, theprocess has been handled with seriousness,necessary investigations have been launched immediately, and all information and documents, without leaving any room for doubt,will be shared with the public transparently, asannounced clearly.is. Despite this, fordays, before the facts have even emergedand before the official examination and investigationprocesses have been completed, claims that the video in questionbelongs to the Karataş Animal Care Centerhave been persistentlymaintained.itis.

"To bea tool for a lynchculture that paves the way for extrajudicialexecutions is something else"

The resultis already in this directionif it had been detected, the necessaryallprocedures would have been carried out without delay. Our ABB Mayor Mansur Yavaş will not adopt an attitude thatprotects or covers upanyone, and as soon as the incidentwas reflected in the public eye, he accepted thefootage as a formal complaint and initiated an Inspectionby initiating an investigation personally upon his own instruction to the Board, he hasclearly demonstrated.However, in theprocess wesaw this: It is, of course, everyone's right to ask and questionis, and we have infinite respect for this. However, being a tool for a lynchculture that paves the way for summary executions is somethingelse entirely. The real issue is where we stood until that moment.

"An animal lover who came for theprotest and was taken into the facilitythanked the staff andleft thepremises."

We would also like to specifically underline one point: On the dayit was planned to hold a protestin front of our municipal shelter,the WhatsApp messagesbelonging to the relevant groupscorrespondence has reached us. The answers to the questions regarding why everyonewas not allowedinside are contained within this very correspondence. Indeed, an animal lover they chose from amongthemselves was allowed into the facility,conducted the necessary inspections, expressedtheir gratitude, and left our facility.In accordance with the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK), thecorrespondence in questioncorrespondence is not shared with the public, but this correspondence is alsoincluded as evidence in the file for which we filed a criminal complaint.It should be reminded that among the fundamental responsibilities of publicofficialsin the areaswhere they serveis to maintain publicorder.to ensure, life and property securityto protect and to prevent irreparable incidentsis also among the preventive measures taken. In this context, all measures taken for any peris not intended to obstruct any person or group, but to ensure publicsafety. The incident of blocking the road with an excavatorwas not at the discretion of our municipality, butat the request ofsecurityunits and was placed there accordingly.is.

"Since the day the shelter was established, it has been broadcast live 24 hours a day."aa

These smear campaigns are also an attack on the personal rights of our municipal staff who work devotedly for our dear animal friends.The families and children of our municipal staff,who are being targeted in this smear campaign,are also affected.exists. We will not allowthis lie, ugly slander, and defamation directed at themtoday, just as we did notallow it yesterday. In the meantime, our Department of Veterinary Affairsis conducting joint efforts and collaborationswith 42 associations operatingthroughout Ankara. In addition to this,it is carrying outIn addition, 46volunteer citizenshave contributed to the establishment of boutique living spaces created at our Karataş Animal Shelter and Rehabilitation Center, andthese volunteers regularly visit the facility and actively support the process. Furthermore,the Karataş Animal Shelter and Rehabilitation Center has, since the dayit was founded, in line with the principle of transparency, been accessible at https://canli.ankara.bel.tr/ 24 hours a dayaccording tolivebroadcasts are being made, and activities within the facilityare kept constantly accessibleto thepublic. And allsheltersOur shelters are always open to animallovers. We request that animal lovers do not give credit to individuals with ulterior motives.

"All documents will beshared with the public once the investigation isconcluded."

At the end of theprocess, the relevant veterinarian workingwithin our municipality has been suspendedfromduty for theintegrity of theinvestigation. Furthermore, all individualsinitially mentioned A criminal complaint has been filed with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against the individuals and municipal personnel identified as being connected to them for violations of the Disinformation Law No. 7418, publicly spreading misleading information, slander, andmisconduct in public office.A criminal complaint has been filedwith the authorities.Due to the integrity of the investigation and the fact that the matter has been referred to the judiciary, once the investigation isconcluded,all documents serving as evidence that have entered the filewill be shared with the public.will be initiated.”

A statement made by the ABBwasalso accompanied by a PDF file. The file includes the relevant report, the petition in which veterinarian H.İ. explains the incident,the carehome's live broadcast camera footage, and a comparison of the photos of the clinic in the footage with the Karataş Care Home, highlighting the differences, as well as the criminal complaint filed with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.public announcement was included.

News Source: 12punto