Türkiye's opposition cries foul over new laws targeting stray dogs

Türkiye has approved new laws to round up stray dogs, despite protests from animal rights groups and opposition parties. 

Lawmakers in the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) say they are acting on legitimate concerns over street dogs, now said to number over four million across the country.

Defending the bill, President Erdogan claimed "These stray dogs attack children, adults, elderly people... they attack flocks of sheep and goats, and they cause traffic accidents."

Despite mass public protests, the legislation was passed at a final reading, with AKP lawmakers using their parliamentary majority to push through the plans. Animal rights advocates have denounced what they call a "massacre law."  

READ MORE

Denmark's Mandarin-speaking badminton champ

Refugee team seeks first Olympic medal

Hungarian judo star fights for his sport

"Even if there is no medical fault in the animal, a decision to euthanize can be made within the framework of the rules," Istanbul-based animal rights advocate Eda Sampoli told CGTN. "Authority is being granted to individuals and organizations (to cull), whether they are knowledgeable or not."  

Stray animals are largely tolerated in Türkiye, where they are often fed and tended by the public. Under the new plans, municipal authorities will now be obliged to build shelters to accommodate strays, with those deemed sick or dangerous to be euthanized. 

Türkiye currently has just over three hundred official shelters, far short of what's necessary, with demand highest in urban areas.    

The CHP Republicans and pro-Kurdish DEM parties have refused to implement the law, despite warnings that individual mayors face fines or even jail terms for non-compliance.

Speaking in the Turkish parliament, CHP Shadow Justice Minister Gokce Gokcen accused the ruling AKP of "a witch hunt… to take revenge on the municipalities you couldn't reclaim on March 31." Türkiye held widespread local elections on March 31, at which the CHP made big gains, particularly in metropolitan areas. 

The CHP is vowing to appeal to the Supreme Court to have the legislation revoked. Istanbul mayor and long-time Erdogan opponent, Ekrem Imamoglu, has denounced the bill as an attack on cash-strapped municipalities that now face "an abnormal burden and a very high level of responsibility." 

But the AKP says it is acting on a "demand of the nation," with a deadline set for 2028 for the completion of all new animal shelters.  

Subscribe to Storyboard: A weekly newsletter bringing you the best of CGTN every Friday