GENÇLERİN SAHİPSİZ SOKAK KÖPEĞİ SALDIRILARINA YÖNELİK DÜŞÜNCELERİ ÇERÇEVESİNDE MAĞDURİYETİN GÜNCEL GÖRÜNTÜSÜNÜN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

The main purpose of this research is to identify the opinions of young people on stray dog attacks and to make assessments related to victimization. For this purpose, twelve young individuals receiving university education and experiencing uneasiness due to street dog attacks have been reached by snowball sampling method. A semi-structured interview form consisting of twenty-five questions developed by the researcher has been used to collect data in the study. The interviews have been conducted face to face with young people aged 18-21 that have been informed and have signed the volunteer form prior to participation. The data of the research conducted with qualitative research method have been analyzed with content analysis method. In the analyzes, it has been determined that most of the participants have felt disadvantaged and have the fear of attack due to street dog attack, and some have been attacked in person by street dogs. The majority of the participants have stated that they have been negatively affected psychologically and educationally due to street dog attacks. Participants perceive street dog attacks as a social risk and problem that concerns everyone in society, not the individual, regardless of whether the dogs are feared. It has been found that in order to end street dog attacks that negatively affect public health and reduce the quality of life, young people have many suggestions such as increasing the number of animal shelters, amending the law to ensure that street dogs receive care in shelters until they die, and microchipping dogs. It has been thought that the findings of the research contribute to the creation of social policy on the use of street dogs for the benefit of society.