The Animal Situation Tracking (HAYDI) app introduced by the Interior Ministry in 2020 to curb crimes committed against animals continues to yield positive results and illuminate crimes as it helped to clear some 236 cases under the police department in Samsun, according to reports on Tuesday.
The app, along with the establishment of the Environment, Nature and Animal Protection Directorate, a branch of the Turkish National Police, enables the public to immediately report any animal-related offenses.
The police officers using the HAYDI app meticulously examine every report regarding animals, aiming to prevent instances of negligence, cruelty and harm caused by traffic accidents involving strays. Evaluating the reports received through the application, the teams take the appropriate administrative and legal measures against the perpetrators if necessary.
According to the reports of Ihlas News Agency (IHA), the provincial department in Samsun has received approximately 1,032 reports since its establishment of the nature and animal protection unit in 2020 with some 892 of them being submitted through the aforementioned application.
Based on the information received from the police department, when observing the cases it was determined that the legal complaints and cases included releasing the animal in a way that poses a danger, and the administrative points included neglect of the care and abandoning the scene of a traffic accident that included hitting the animal.
Police officer Aylin Kes Çobanoğlu emphasized the increasing number of crimes against animals and highlighted that legal and administrative actions are taken against those responsible for various forms of animal abuse.
Reiterating that the HAYDI application was put into service in July 2020 to quickly report crimes against the environment and nature, Çobanoğlu noted that after the evaluation of the 892 reports received since the app was released and put into use, they had found that a high number of reports turned out to be baseless. She noted that only 236 of the cases were eventually processed.
Additionally, the HAYDI teams of the Samsun Police Department, who also provide food for stray animals, bring hope to thousands of these animals in need.