Let's Adopt
Encyclopedia
Let’s Adopt!, also known as Sahip Çıkalım! in Turkish, is a Turkey
based animal rights
group founded on Jan. 8, 2008 by two activists; Viktor Larkhill and Fulya Ulusoy. Let’s Adopt! is not legally registered as an association and is a largely internet driven group that makes use of social media
in general and the networking site Facebook
in particular. The group focuses on educating the general public on animal welfare
issues, conducting rescue operations for animals in danger and rehoming them as well as lobbying
at different levels of the Turkish government.
in June 2009. Let’s Adopt made the front page of some of the dailies in the country when it offered a TL 2000 reward for those who might provide any information on Ebru’s attackers so that legal action could be taken against them. However, this first encounter with the Turkish press was not entirely smooth. The Marmara Hotel that supposedly took care of Ebru for years, denied any human interference in her death . In the face of this controversy, some newspapers referred to Let’s Adopt as “a group founded by a foreigner residing in Turkey named Viktor Larkhill”, failing to pick up on a reference to the '80s comic V for Vendetta
.
Shortly after this incident, Larkhill, who earlier made a point not to reveal his real identity, changed his Facebook profile picture which previously featured an illustration of the V Mask from the original comic strip, to a real picture showing his face. However, Larkhill has not yet made his real name public.
of the animals it helps that were developed over time to ensure the highest adoption success rate.
1. The adopting family must currently have a dog or a cat at home. This rule was introduced to minimize the risk of the adopted animal being abandoned.
2. The animal must live inside the home with the family members. This rule goes against the traditional Turkish way of keeping animals as guard dogs and letting them roam freely on the streets. This rule was introduced to ensure the safety of the animal in question.
3. The adopted animal must be fed a raw diet
. Let’s Adopt! is a strong believer of raw food diets. This rule was introduced later due to the founders' firm conviction that most of the medical problems suffered by companion animals come from nutritional issues and commercial diets. Larkhill insists that animals are fed a diet that has stood the test of time for millennia of evolution
.
principle. Let’s Adopt! rescue animals
are rarely placed with new owners before being neutered. The group also organizes protests and campaigns against some city and district municipalities that are frequently accused of poisoning stray animals or abandoning them in woodlands to starve and other alleged violations of Turkey’s animal welfare legislation.
Let's Adopt! (Canada) blog, http://canada.myletsadopt.com
Let's Adopt! (USA) blog, http://us.myletsadopt.com
Other pages that include information on the group's activities:
http://network.bestfriends.org/golocal/greece/12060/news.aspx
http://network.bestfriends.org/13265/News.aspx
http://network.bestfriends.org/13241/News.aspx
http://network.bestfriends.org/12922/News.aspx
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
based animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
group founded on Jan. 8, 2008 by two activists; Viktor Larkhill and Fulya Ulusoy. Let’s Adopt! is not legally registered as an association and is a largely internet driven group that makes use of social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
in general and the networking site Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
in particular. The group focuses on educating the general public on animal welfare
Animal welfare
Animal welfare is the physical and psychological well-being of animals.The term animal welfare can also mean human concern for animal welfare or a position in a debate on animal ethics and animal rights...
issues, conducting rescue operations for animals in danger and rehoming them as well as lobbying
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
at different levels of the Turkish government.
History
Initially known only to an internet using network of animal lovers, Let’s Adopt! first came under public spotlight with the death of Ebru, a stray dog allegedly kicked to death by a group of young men near İstanbul’s Taksim SquareTaksim Square
Taksim Square situated in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of the Istanbul Metro network...
in June 2009. Let’s Adopt made the front page of some of the dailies in the country when it offered a TL 2000 reward for those who might provide any information on Ebru’s attackers so that legal action could be taken against them. However, this first encounter with the Turkish press was not entirely smooth. The Marmara Hotel that supposedly took care of Ebru for years, denied any human interference in her death . In the face of this controversy, some newspapers referred to Let’s Adopt as “a group founded by a foreigner residing in Turkey named Viktor Larkhill”, failing to pick up on a reference to the '80s comic V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta
V for Vendetta is a ten-issue comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated mostly by David Lloyd, set in a dystopian future United Kingdom imagined from the 1980s to about the 1990s. A mysterious masked revolutionary who calls himself "V" works to destroy the totalitarian government,...
.
Shortly after this incident, Larkhill, who earlier made a point not to reveal his real identity, changed his Facebook profile picture which previously featured an illustration of the V Mask from the original comic strip, to a real picture showing his face. However, Larkhill has not yet made his real name public.
Adoption Principles
Let’s Adopt applies three rules for adoptionAdoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
of the animals it helps that were developed over time to ensure the highest adoption success rate.
1. The adopting family must currently have a dog or a cat at home. This rule was introduced to minimize the risk of the adopted animal being abandoned.
2. The animal must live inside the home with the family members. This rule goes against the traditional Turkish way of keeping animals as guard dogs and letting them roam freely on the streets. This rule was introduced to ensure the safety of the animal in question.
3. The adopted animal must be fed a raw diet
Raw foodism
Raw foodism is the practice of consuming uncooked, unprocessed, and often organic foods as a large percentage of the diet....
. Let’s Adopt! is a strong believer of raw food diets. This rule was introduced later due to the founders' firm conviction that most of the medical problems suffered by companion animals come from nutritional issues and commercial diets. Larkhill insists that animals are fed a diet that has stood the test of time for millennia of evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
.
Philosophy
Let’s Adopt!, in line with Turkish legislation, strictly adheres to the no-kill principle in promoting animal welfare and keeping urban stray populations under control. Turkish law governing stray animal populations adheres to the neuter-and-releaseTrap-Neuter-Return
Trap-Neuter-Return , also known as Trap-Test-Vaccinate-Alter-Release is a method of humanely trapping unaltered feral cats, spaying or neutering them, and releasing them back to the same location where they were collected...
principle. Let’s Adopt! rescue animals
Rescue dog
A rescue dog is a dog that has been rescued from possible euthanasia after being found as a stray, a dog that has been saved from an abusive or neglectful home by an animal rescue organisation such as the RSPCA in the UK or the ASPCA in the USA, or a dog that is simply no longer wanted or can no...
are rarely placed with new owners before being neutered. The group also organizes protests and campaigns against some city and district municipalities that are frequently accused of poisoning stray animals or abandoning them in woodlands to starve and other alleged violations of Turkey’s animal welfare legislation.
Let's Adopt! International Network
Since July 2009, Let's Adopt! has spread its international network and begun to operate in four new countries, namely Canada , France, Germany , and United States. These local chapters, which function following the same methods and principles as the Turkey based main group, focus their effort on local animal welfare problems, rescue operations as well as rehoming activities.External links
The group's blog, http://blog.myletsadopt.comLet's Adopt! (Canada) blog, http://canada.myletsadopt.com
Let's Adopt! (USA) blog, http://us.myletsadopt.com
Other pages that include information on the group's activities:
http://network.bestfriends.org/golocal/greece/12060/news.aspx
http://network.bestfriends.org/13265/News.aspx
http://network.bestfriends.org/13241/News.aspx
http://network.bestfriends.org/12922/News.aspx