ISTANBUL (AP) — Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul on Sunday to protest fresh legislation that critics say will lead to the killing of stray dogs across Turkey.
Last month, lawmakers passed the fresh law that would remove millions of stray dogs from Turkey’s streets for safety reasons. Animal lovers fear it will lead to large-scale culls or send the dogs to disease-ridden and overcrowded shelters.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the law was necessary to solve the country’s “stray dog ​​problem.”
Sunday’s protesters called for the law to be repealed, waving signs reading “Emergency shelters are death camps” and “Repeal this bloody law.”
“We want this law to be withdrawn immediately,” 64-year-old protester Hasan Kizilyatak told the Associated Press. “They (stray dogs) are living creatures, just like us. We are here because we are against their extermination.”
55-year-old Ayten Arslan, who expressed her support for Erdogan, also attended the protest.
“Just as we stood by our president on July 15 (2016) when there was a coup attempt, we stand with the stray animals,” she told AP. “As a supporter of the AK Party, I say: This law is a bloody law.”
The main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, filed a petition to the Constitutional Court to repeal the law less than two weeks after it was passed.
The government estimates that there are around 4 million stray dogs roaming the streets and rural areas of Turkey. Although most are harmless, several people, including children, have been attacked.
A report by the Safe Streets and Defense of the Right to Life Association, an organization that works to eliminate all stray dogs from the streets, says 65 people have died in street dog attacks since 2022.
The fresh law requires municipalities to collect stray dogs and place them in shelters, where they are vaccinated, neutered and spayed before being put up for adoption. Dogs that are in pain, terminally ill or pose a health risk to humans will be euthanized. The original draft of the law also included cats, but this article was changed after a public outcry.
However, many are wondering where the cash-strapped municipalities will get the money to build the necessary additional accommodation.
Animal rights activists fear that some municipalities may kill dogs under the pretext of illness instead of providing funds for their accommodation.
Videos have recently been circulating on social media showing dead cats and dogs buried in ditches. Animal rights activists say the animals were killed indiscriminately after the law was passed.
