Two cat traps were placed on a floor of Sur Yapı Marka Shopping Mall in Bursa’s Nilüfer district on Aug 16, drawing immediate backlash from mall employees and local animal rights activists.
The traps were removed shortly after being discovered, following objections from staff members. Gülcan Sert and Yasemin Göksel of the Bursa Animal Rights Platform told bianet that they visited the mall to meet with management after receiving reports about the incident.
Several employees expressed concern over the safety of a cat named Osman, who has been cared for inside the mall for the past two years. One employee said Osman is neutered and receives regular health checks.
After the traps were discovered, Osman was moved to a safe area, the employee noted. They also shared unconfirmed reports that similar traps had been placed in other parts of the mall six months ago. “We heard that traps were also used on other floors back then, but I didn’t witness it personally,” they added.
Fate of captured cats
Members of the Bursa Animal Rights Platform executive board said they met with a mall official and a head of security to discuss the issue. Sert and Göksel said the responses they received about what happened to the captured cats were inconsistent.
“When we asked what they did with the cats caught in the cages, the head of security mostly answered,” they said. “But the responses contradicted each other—‘We call Nilüfer Municipality and they come and take them,’ ‘We call but they don’t come, so we take them ourselves,’ ‘We release them in nearby parks.’ They gave all kinds of answers.”
The activists added that a person who introduced themselves as the mall manager led them to a terrace area, saying they cared about the animals, and showed them food bowls placed there. While this person cited concerns over health risks posed by animals inside the mall, Sert and Göksel said they made it clear that such measures were not a solution.
“We offered to cooperate with the administration,” they said. “We told them this is not the way to solve the problem. Eventually, we received a verbal assurance that the animals would not be sent to shelters or relocated to unknown places.”
‘Abandoning them to die’
The Bursa Animal Rights Platform also shared a statement on Instagram about the incident.
In the post, they said they had received reports that cat traps were being used inside Sur Yapı Marka Mall, and that citizens who tried to reach the cages were blocked by management.
The platform emphasized that animals often rely on specific areas as shelter throughout the year, and that relocating cats from familiar environments to unfamiliar ones could lead to fatal outcomes.
They also stated that shelters are not appropriate places for healthy animals and called on the mall administration to issue an urgent public statement. (AEA/TY/VK)
