Sheep dog

A facility in the northwestern city of Bursa's Karacabey district has been preserving the genetic material of Kangal and Akbaş Turkish shepherd dogs, breeding and selling purebred dogs since 1996.

The General Directorate of Agricultural Enterprises' (TİGEM) facility welcomes around 200 puppies annually, with over 6,000 Turkish shepherd dogs sold over the past 28 years.

Around 200 individuals who wish to adopt special Turkish dog breeds raised by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry in the northwestern province of Bursa are queued to wait for six months.

Kangals, a dog species native to the Central Anatolian province of Sivas, are in huge demand in Africa, as they are excellent in guarding livestock against lions, which are a common threat in the continent, the city's mayor has said.

A program for breeding and protecting the Greek Sheepdog by the Arcturos wildlife and nature conservation society has been a resounding success, and, according to its press secretary, Panos Stefanou, "there are farmers who will wait for more than two years to get a puppy."