A businessman from Kayseri, who operates a touristic facility in Kuşadası, has converted a part of his 180-acre land into a five-star facility within ten days after the law on stray animals was enacted.
Animals collected from the street were housed, treated and offered to tourists visiting the hotel for adoption.
Businessman Halil İbrahim Çevik said: “We have implemented a social responsibility project that 90 percent of touristic facilities in Turkey can easily do with our staff in ten days. It pains me every time I hear about stray animals being killed. If the project is expanded in touristic areas, we can protect thousands of my animals.”
Çevik, who manages the 5-star Charisma De Luxe Hotel in Kuşadası, has implemented a significant portion of his land in Yeniköy, 15 km from Kuşadası, for stray animals under the name of the “5-Star Nest Project” with a capacity of 100 dogs.
Immediately after the law on stray animals, which drew a swift reaction, was enacted, hotel manager Serdar Köroğlu, reservation manager Ayça Kavut and 50 staff members created a shelter, veterinary clinic, feeding points and a safe zone for stray animals on the farm.
Thirty dogs collected from the street were brought to the shelter and treated and vaccinated by veterinarian Seyfullah Zeyrek, and their care was completed. Some of the 175 staff working at the hotel came to the farm at certain times every day to take care of the stray animals.
They placed brochures in all rooms of the 450-bed 5-star hotel, saying “Scan the QR code to see the dogs, we have a dog you can adopt”, allowing tourists to see photos of the dogs in the 5-star home.
Local and foreign tourists visited the 5-star shelter to see and adopt the dogs, using the brochures they saw in their rooms. Within ten days, 5 tourists adopted 5 street dogs and took them to their homes and countries.
Cevik stated: “After the laws were enacted, I believed we absolutely had to do something. And we turned a part of our farm into a 5-star home for our stray animals. The staff took ownership and we supported it.
“We could not stand by and watch stray animals being killed in plain sight, no conscience or heart would agree to this. This is not a shelter, dogs can roam freely here, they are treated, fed and adopted.”