In Turkey, more and more people are taking to the streets against a planned law that would allow the killing of street animals. Protests have been going on for days in many cities such as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.
The draft provides for an amendment to the Animal Welfare Act. Accordingly, stray dogs and other homeless animals must first be taken in and housed in homes. The aim is to transfer them. However, euthanasia is also possible in certain cases – for example, if the animals are “aggressive”, pose a “threat to public safety”, have infectious diseases or cause “damage to water supplies, nature or biological diversity”.
No deadline for mediation
The media had previously reported that the Islamist conservative ruling party AKP planned to take in and euthanize stray dogs if they could not be rehomed after 30 days. However, such a passage is missing from the current draft law. Animal rights activists criticize that the criteria for euthanasia are too imprecise and fear mass killings.
In many cities, they have been mobilizing against the project for days. In Istanbul, demonstrators held signs reading “murder.” According to government figures, there are an estimated four million stray dogs in Turkey, but only 100,000 places in animal shelters. Activist Senol Karakas therefore does not believe that the animals can be housed and cared for in a species-friendly way. In the past, dogs were killed there with shovels.
Municipalities must organize housing
The draft states that municipalities must create sufficient housing by the end of 2028. Failure to do so could result in prison sentences. The government justifies the project by saying that street dogs would repeatedly attack people. The largest opposition party, the CHP, wants to rely instead on consistent castrations, vaccinations and subsequent releases to the area of origin.
Source: Krone
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