Helping Animals Caught in Massive Turkey/Syria Earthquake
February 24, 2023
Dear Friends
On February 6, a mammoth 7.8 magnitude earthquake took place in Turkey and Syria, causing massive damage to buildings and the people and animals in them. Estimates are that 46,000 people may have died, many of whom had pets living with them. The number of pets that died could be even higher. Operations are underway to rescue people caught in the rubble, a situation made worse by the freezing winter weather.
There is a parallel and equally heart-breaking effort to rescue as many of the trapped animals as possible, by far mostly dogs, cats, and birds, but even some farm animals. As with human rescues, volunteers brave the weather and the possibility of further structure collapse to pull starving, dehydrated animals buried in the rubble. Those lucky enough to be alive will need food, water, and shelter, and many will need veterinary care as well for broken bones, failing organs, exposure, and starvation. The groups organized to rescue these animals and care for them after their rescue all desperately need funds to support their efforts.
If you would like to help with efforts in Turkey and Syrai to rescue animals, here are the names and contact information for several groups involved, some based in the USA but others located in Turkey and Syria directly. An excellent website that describes the situation and rescue efforts is World Animal News.
GROUPS in the UNITED STATES
Network For Animals
NFA has been at the forefront of helping rescues in Ukraine and has now stepped up to support earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. NFA has partnered with HAYTAP, a local animal welfare and rescue group operating in Turkey. NFA send funds to support their animal rescue and rehabilitation work. Donations can be made on their website.
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
“We are working with local animal rescue teams in the hardest-hit communities who are taking action on the following priorities:
- Emergency interventions for displaced animals
- Veterinary triage for injured animals
- Field assessments to identify unmet animal needs
Rescue teams will be working for the next few weeks, if not months. The road to recovery will be long.” Donate here.
PETA’s Global Compassion Fund
Organizations supported by PETA’s Global Compassion Fund are on the ground in Turkey, helping animals who are struggling to survive after losing everything thing they have ever known. Your donation to the Global Compassion Fund today will give an immediate boost to our partners as they provide animals with food, veterinary care, and other necessities. Donate here.
GROUPS IN SYRIA and TURKEY
HAYTAP
HAYTAP is an animal rescue group and sanctuary in Turkey. As HAYTAP Animal Rights Federation in Turkey, they concentrate on one area because of having limited amount of trained people and resources. Network for Animals is also supporting HAYTAP. Donate at this Haytap link. Scan down the page to see how to use your credit card through their PayPal system called Fonzip.
Pets in Turkey
They are a group of animal and nature-loving people living in Switzerland with close ties to Turkey. Their mission is to help all breeds of cats and dogs in Turkey who are regularly being abandoned and abused in large numbers. PIT has been involved in rescuing stray animals in Turkey long before the recent earthquake. Link to donations page. A Swiss franc is roughly equivalent to a U.S dollar.
Enersto’s Cat Sanctuary
Ernesto’s Sanctuary, in the Northwestern area of Syria, is in a war zone and is still suffering from the civil war that has affected all of Syria for the last 10 years. They take care of the forgotten victims of the war — Syria’s animals. Ernesto’s Cat Sanctuary houses several hundred cats, all of them are survivors and all of them have their own story. Volunteers from ECS are on the ground rescuing trapped animals in the earthquake zone.
Donations can be made via PayPal to HouseOfCatsUSA@gmail.com
Breaking the Chains
Specialist Tactical Animal Relief (S.T.A.R)- specializing in extracting animals to safety from danger. “Time is of the essence for the many animals still left in buildings. We are trying to reach as many as possible.” This group rescues people as well as animals. Donations link.
Devran Naz and Aliya Topol
A group run by Dev Naz that rescues animals around the world, now working on earthquake rescues in Turkey. Over the last couple of years Dev, his friends and family have gained a huge amount of support with their mission. They have been able to provide the street dogs of Karatas, Turkey with food, medical care, dog houses and at the very least the tender love and care every sentient being deserves. Donations can be made on this GoFundMe website.
The following is an animal welfare group that rescues animals regularly in the area.
Raise Your Paw
RYP is a German-based group that regularly rescues stray animals in Turkey and works to improve the world of street animals. “It is a matter close to our hearts to enable as many animals as possible to lead a species-appropriate and healthy life.” They partner with Pets in Turkey. Donations can be made via Paypal on their website