For the stray dogs that live here, the Van landfill is nothing less than a hell. Hundreds of animals struggle to survive amid hunger, thirst, and disease. Beyond those that wander in from nearby areas, municipalities abandon dogs collected from across the city directly into this space, creating an ever-deepening crisis. Most of the animals here are sick, injured, or disabled. As they drift into surrounding neighborhoods, the “dogs of the landfill” become not only an issue of animal welfare but also a pressing public health concern. On the nearby Özalp–Van highway, dogs spilling out of the landfill cause frequent traffic accidents.

Officials estimate that nearly 20,000 stray dogs live in Van, with the landfill as their densest gathering point. Each year, unsterilized or improperly operated females give birth to countless puppies here—most of whom endure only a few days of suffering before they die. The landfill, where birth, death, and pain repeat endlessly, becomes a micro-hell: a place where questions of animal rights and public health converge in the starkest of ways.