In Pictures
Photos: Turkey’s street dogs face off against app, and win
Havrita allowed users to pinpoint the location of stray dogs, which were then often killed. A court has now banned it.
Published On 8 Sep 2022
Stray dogs are a common sight in Istanbul, and, just like the city’s cats, are much loved by locals and tourists alike.
But, with fears among some Turks of attacks – two pit bulls mauled and seriously injured a young girl in the southern city of Gaziantep last year – an app emerged in May, Havrita – made up of the words “woof” and “map” in Turkish – which allowed users to report strays.
The app’s launch led to dogs being poisoned and killed, and a backlash ensued.
But, this month, it was Havrita that was killed off, when an Ankara court decided the app had gone too far, and blocked access to it.