Photos from Aydin Arik / Anadolu Agency / Getty
UPDATE: Monday, February 13th
The devastating aftermath of last week’s earthquake in Turkey and Syria is growing in severity with the human death toll rising to over 37,000 people earlier today. The number of animals injured or deceased remains unknown, though heartbreaking-turned-heartwarming images of animal rescues have been posted across social media.
Thankfully, there is more positive news emerging from the rubble as search and rescue teams from around the world are assisting in the massive recovery operation. Today, numerous people, including teenagers, were reportedly found alive after being buried under buildings for over a week now.
As many animals continue to be saved from the wreckage and reunited with their families, it is imperative that we continue to help ensure that they have enough food, water, and other necessities.
Please consider donating to help the organizations on the ground in Turkey and Syria continue their life-saving work:
HAYTAP –Donations can be made HERE!
Ernesto’s Cat Sanctuary –Donations can be made via PayPal to HouseOfCatsUSA@gmail.com or HERE!
Pets In Turkey –Donations can be made via PayPal to info@petsainturkey.org
Raise Your Paw –Donations can be made via PayPal to wuff@raiseyourpaw.ch
Paw Guards –Donations can be made via PayPal to
pawguards@gmail.com or HERE!
Breaking The Chains –Donations can be made HERE!
IFAW –Donations can be made HERE!
Devran Naz & Aliya Topal –Donations can be made on their
GoFundMe Campaign HERE!
Tuesday, February 7th
This morning, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued an update following yesterday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake that has tragically killed more than 7,000 people in Turkey and in northwest Syria. Sadly, this number is expected to rise. Statistics on how animals have died, been injured, or displaced by the earthquake have yet to be released.
“In order to ensure that search and rescue activities and subsequent work can be carried out quickly, we have decided to declare a State of Emergency for three months in 10 provinces in accordance with Article 119 of the Constitution,” President Erdogan stated in a post on his Facebook page.
Thankfully, help is on the way for both humans and animals alike in the 10 cities most affected by the earthquake. The United States, Israel, Japan, Switzerland, Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Uzbekistan, Germany, Italy, Spain, Pakistan, India, Ukraine, UAE, Azerbaijan, Britain, Malaysia, Canada, France, Poland, Romania, and Taiwan are among the 45 countries that are sending their support to the devastated areas to help with search and rescue efforts.
First responders, military units, supplies, airplanes, and transport vehicles from around the world are currently en route to assist local crews with the monumental task of saving as many lives as possible. Reports are flooding in that people and animals are trapped beneath buildings and mountainous rubble.
Mexico, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Libya, Poland, Switzerland, the UK, and the United States are reportedly also deploying search and rescue dogs with their handlers.
HAYTAP, an animal rights federation in Turkey explained on its website that it only has enough power to go to the city of HATAY-ANTAKYA because of its limited amount of trained people and resources.
