Turkey’s Erdogan shows bark and bite by targeting stray dogs in culture war

In a Christmas Day speech, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on city officials across Turkey to round up often beloved stray dogs, which are frequently allowed to roam free in public squares and streets, and demanded that so-called “white Turks” — shorthand for the country’s Europe-oriented secular elite — mind their pets.

“White Turks, take responsibility for your animals,” he said in the speech. “These dogs are the dogs of the wealthy.”

The speech came after a pair of pitbulls attacked and seriously wounded a four-year-old girl in the southern city of Gaziantep in a 22 December incident captured on video.

Turks took to social media to defend the maligned mutts, decrying the state of the country’s animal shelters. “Stray animals” has been the top trending hashtag on Turkish social media over the last several days.