Turkey's opposition-held cities will resist stray dog massacre law

Two major opposition parties have announced that they will not implement the recently passed law on stray animals. 

The legislation, approved in the early hours of the day by the parliament, mandates the collection of stray dogs into shelters for vaccination and adoption. Dogs that cannot be adopted, including severely ill, elderly, or aggressive animals, will be ‘euthanized.’ Municipalities will be held primarily responsible for executing the law, with penalties and jail time for non-compliance.

One of the significant challenges in implementing this law is constructing shelters with sufficient capacity for the estimated 4 to 8 million stray dogs in the country. The current capacity is far below these numbers, with only 322 municipality shelters capable of housing 105,000 dogs.

Turkey’s parliament approves controversial euthanasia measure for stray dogs

29 July 2024

CHP to bring the law to top court

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) announced it would challenge the law in the Constitutional Court. The party’s leader Özgür Özel told reporters after the parliamentary vote that the law is ‘unconstitutional’ and that they will request an immediate injunction from the high court.

Özel criticized the law's requirements for municipalities, calling them a ‘covert extermination order’ and affirmed that "our municipalities will, of course, resist this." 

He also commented on possible public health risks, saying, "Given that stray dogs serve as a barrier between wildlife and urban life, especially concerning diseases like rabies, this is a highly risky step."

The CHP controls the highest number of city municipalities in the country at 36 out of 81, with 14 greater cities including İstanbul and the capital Ankara.

"The governent targets all living beings"

The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, which controls 10 cities in the country's predominantly Kurdish-populated regions, also stated it would not enforce the law in the cities it controls. The party’s spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan told bianet that “none of our municipalities will implement this policy."

"The government's policy directly targets living beings. They cut down trees, imprison people, and ‘put to sleep’ animals. We are talking about people who live closely with animals. As the DEM Party, we are very clear and determined on this issue. We know that the cutting of trees, the construction of dams and power plants in our region are all interconnected,” she said.

Doğan highlighted the strong opposition by the DEM Party to the legislation from the moment it was proposed, both in the parliament and on the streets. She reaffirmed their commitment to not implement the law in their municipalities.

"We have fought this law strongly and defended animal rights robustly. Today, through your channel, we once again announce to animal rights activists and the public that we will continue to fight against this law and will not implement it in our municipalities," Doğan further remarked. (TY/VK)