Turkish law on street dogs sparks opposition anger. July 30, 2024

A dog with a sign saying “Remove the law” at a protest in Istanbul

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Turkish law on street dogs sparks opposition anger.

Turkish opposition parties vowed on Tuesday to fight a law that authorizes the capture - and in some cases killing - of the country's estimated four million street dogs.

The emotive law - which animal lovers fear will lead to mass slaughter, although the government denies this - passed its final reading in the early hours of Tuesday morning by a margin of 51 votes, in the face of opposition protests.

MPs opposed to the law wore white gloves stained with fake blood during the debate. "We'll challenge this law in the constitutional court as soon as possible. It violates animals' right to life,” said Ozgur Ozel, leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), the main opposition party.

"Today is a dark day. Neither history nor humanity will forgive those who voted 'yes',” protested CHP lawmaker Aliye Timis Ersever.

The government argues that street dogs deemed sick or uncontrollable should be put down to prevent increasing attacks and the spread of rabies.

It says that other homeless dogs should be rounded up in animal shelters and put up for adoption.

Critics say that relying on animal sanctuaries and adoption is ultimately impractical because of the numbers involved.

Instead, they advocate a mass sterilization and vaccination campaign.

The law has revived memories of a tragedy that took place in 1910 when the Ottoman authorities rounded up around 60,000 abandoned animals in Istanbul and sent them to a deserted rock in the Sea of Marmara.

With nothing to eat, the dogs tore each other apart.

The international animal welfare group Four Paws called on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan not to ratify the new law.

- Revenge

“Four Paws strongly condemns the killing (and) long-term mass sheltering of abandoned animals as a means of population control, not only because of the suffering it causes... but also because it is an ineffective, inhumane and expensive way of reducing the number of abandoned animals,” it said.

The most successful method is to capture, neuter, and vaccinate the animals and then release them again, he added.

Erdogan said that Turkey faces a problem “like no other civilized country”.

The president, whose AKP party and its allies have a majority in parliament, said on Wednesday that people wanted “safe streets”.

The social-democratic CHP party, which took control of Istanbul and other major cities in local elections in March, has said its mayors will not enforce the law.

The legislation says that dogs will be put down if they “pose a danger to the life or health of people and animals, exhibit uncontrollable negative behavior, have a contagious or incurable disease or whose adoption is prohibited”.

The law says that local councils must build animal shelters and implement the law by 2028. Mayors who refuse could be jailed for up to two years.

The opposition accused the AKP of seeking revenge after its defeat in the local elections.

"You want revenge for March 31. You can pass as many massacre laws as you want, but none of our local councils will be your accomplices,” said CHP MP Gokce Gokcen.

Millions of people in Turkey feed and pet the country's street animals. The government's plan has sparked protests across the country and inside parliament.

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