The Van region has a large Kurdish population, and Van cats have been referred to as "Kurdish cats"Grossbongardt, Annette and Zand, Bernhard, "Kurdische Katzen", Der Spiegel 44/2007 or the "Kurdish Van cat", and made a symbol of Kurdistan in Kurdish nationalist circles. Some media sources reported that Turkish soldiers poisoned about 200 Van cats. These claims ultimately seem to have come from an animal rescue group called SOS Van Cats Rescue Action, a spokesperson for which stated: "The cats are Kurdish, and the Turkish authorities are unable to digest this". Van University's cat-breeding project responded: "That the Turkish army would be able to find 200 Van cats, let alone poison them, is utter nonsense".
