The Provincial Animal Protection Board in the eastern province of Erzurum has banned feeding stray animals across the province.
The board concluded that feeding animals on the streets could “cause them to establish breeding and living areas” and imposed the ban on that basis.
District municipalities will monitor compliance with the decision.
The board decided that neighborhood heads should notify the relevant municipality when stray animals are identified in their neighborhoods.
The police and gendarmerie will also conduct inspections across the province. They were instructed to notify the relevant district municipalities “immediately” when animals are found.
Municipalities will assess reports submitted by police, gendarmerie units and neighborhood heads. District governor’s offices will report the work carried out each month to the Erzurum Nature Conservation and National Parks Directorate.
Collection of stray dogs across Turkey
Amendments to the Animal Protection Law adopted in 2024 require municipalities to take unowned stray dogs to shelters and keep them there until they are adopted.
Animal rights advocates have described the legislation as a “massacre law,” warning that removing animals from their living areas and confining them to inadequate shelters could lead to deaths.
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said on Sep 18 that 99.2 percent of stray animals across Turkey had been collected. The figure has not been independently verified, although the number of dogs living on the streets has been observed to decline. Cats, meanwhile, do not appear to have been targeted by the collection efforts so far.
The Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) said in a statement in April that had died because of inadequate health care and conditions at shelters. It also reported cases of neglect and mistreatment, including starvation, improper transportation and inadequate care.
Turkey’s parliament approves controversial euthanasia measure for stray dogs
(NÖ/VK)
