Meral Danyıldız
Raids carried out by the gendarmerie in Artvin’s Yusufeli and İzmir’s Bayındır are not enough to halt the bloody trade. While 39 individuals who staged cockfights in Yusufeli were fined over half a million liras, three people were detained at a farm in İzmir. However, experts warn: "These raids are merely a small fraction of the organised crime network spreading across all four corners of Turkey."
According to information obtained from news sources, Kangal dogs are at the centre of this bloody industry. These dogs, bred under "back-alley" conditions, are subjected to a systematic spiral of violence when they are still puppies. Starvation and assault are the primary methods implemented to make the dogs aggressive. Not to mention the process of dulling the animal’s senses to prepare it for the rings, known as the "arena". Subsequently, the animals "prepared" through torture are marketed to fight barons at astronomical figures via high-priced sales.
INTERCITY TOURNAMENTS
In this system, which is managed through social media and closed messaging groups, dogs declared "champions" in provinces are sent to intercity tournaments, and from there to organisations with overseas connections. In these arenas, where outside filming is strictly prohibited, fights are organised according to predetermined fixtures. Every method of confidentiality is utilised to evade security forces. Despite this, however, numerous video clips circulated within the betting network expose the scale that the organisation has reached.
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55 THOUSAND LIRAS FOR A DOG
An intermediary with whom we got in touch regarding the matter stated that he sells dogs that compete in "championship matches". The individual, whom we asked, "Are there any champion dogs available?", sent fight videos of a 4-year-old dog with a height of 81 cm. Stating that he wants 55 thousand liras for the dog, he provided information that there was an upcoming championship match.
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RING BARGAINING
Specially bred roosters are also among the animals subject to sales bargaining in the posts. A user posting an advertisement on social media made the animal he fought a subject of bargaining, stating, "There is no room left in the coop." He admitted that the animal entered the ring and was made to fight, stating, "It uses spurs and claws."
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THE GRIP OF LAUNDERING AND BETTING
Animal fighting has now turned not only into a matter of "ill-treatment", but also into a serious economic crime topic. According to allegations, the amount of money circulating in these organisations reaches thousands of liras. This illegal betting network, which is estimated to involve hundreds of thousands of people, is also used as a money laundering mechanism according to Lawyer Ezgi Koç from the Istanbul Bar Association Animal Rights Commission: “The sanctions are very low. A massive gambling operation takes place here, money is laundered, and breeding is conducted; the puppies of the dogs that are forced to fight and alleged to be champions are sold. Whereas, the district directorates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry should focus solely on this business. In these organisations, action must be taken both over violence against animals and over the articles of the Turkish Penal Code regarding betting and gambling.”
Stating that the complaints they file remain inconclusive, Lawyer Koç said, "Those who do these things are well-known, influential figures in the region. There is a state of silent approval. When we file a report, these complaints are not prioritised by the prosecutor's offices and are not examined carefully. Just as there are separate units related to domestic violence, there could be separate units related to crimes against animals in certain courthouses. Because when we lodge a complaint, the perspective changes depending on the prosecutor." Koç also noted that Kangal dog breeding is not inspected and data is not kept. Saying, "You can round up as many dogs in the city centre as you like. Unless you put an end to breeding, sales, and dog fighting, you cannot tackle the population," Koç underlined that the betting amounts are very high. She provided the information that champion puppies are sold starting from one hundred thousand liras, and approximately 1 million TL is obtained from a single breeding cycle.
Cem Adıgüzel, who learned that his dog, lost in 2004, had been made to fight and has placed the sector under a magnifying glass ever since, stated that the fight gangs have become monopolised. Indicating that they have started to operate covertly because the betting amounts are substantial, Adıgüzel used the expression, "The sector has grown immensely since that day. It becomes difficult to cope with people who are this organised." He shared that the puppies of dogs that fight very well are also sold in the band of 300-400 thousand liras. Adıgüzel concluded his words by saying, "They converged heavily from provinces and districts, and established a communication network through their own applications. The numbers of these people and their hooligans are multiplying every day. It has taken on a state that appeals to everyone, from children to women, from the employed to the unemployed."
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled İşkence ringlerinde binlerce lira dönüyor: 'Vahşetin ligi', published in BirGün newspaper on June 5, 2026.
