Turkey's bill on stray dogs is not really about the safety of the streets
it is easier to address visible, attention-drawing issues such as stray dogs, rather than more subtle, insidious issues such as workplace safety and gender-based violence.
The bill is pending approval by the parliament despite public and opposition outcry
Originally published on Global Voices
Image by Arzu Geybullayeva
Turkey's parliament members has been locked in a series of heated discussions since July 17, over legislation proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), aimed at reducing the number of strays, which the government says pose a danger to the people. On July 24 the bill was approved primarily through votes from the AKP and its ally Nationalist People Party (MHP), moving closer to becoming a law ahead of the discussions at the parliament, despite the criticism and opposition from animal rights defenders, NGOs, and opposition politicians. The parliament is set to finalize the discussion of the law before August 1, when the parliament goes on summer break.
The controversial bill
AKP officials estimate there are about 4 million stray dogs on Turkey's streets. However, some MPs are questioning this figure. When opposition MP Deniz Yavuzyilmaz asked the ruling party for data proving the assertion of 4 million strays, he received no further response. “Where is your source? None of you can tell us where you are getting this number from!” said Yavuzyilmaz.
Originally the ruling party's proposal called for strays to be euthanized by injection within 30 days of their listing on a government website, unless they are adopted. The AKP claimed the existing system of sterilization was insufficient to control the stray dog population and failed to address public safety concerns.
Animal rights activists and regular citizens disagreed, accusing the government of failing to address the issue despite previous promises. A recent survey on public perception of the animal rights bill from July 2024 by the research and consultancy firm KONDA, found that 63 percent of respondents placed the responsibility on the state and local governments to find solutions without using harsh methods such as euthanasia. About 22 percent responded that stray animals were not a problem at all, while only 15 percent said strays could be put to sleep when necessary.
Throughout the discussions, municipalities led by the opposition parties vowed not to use euthanasia on strays even if the bill was adopted. Civic activists who attended the discussion on July 17 which lasted into the late hours of the night were not allowed to return when discussions resumed on July 22. As a result of public outcry, the AKP backed away from the originally proposed euthanasia narrowing the scope of conditions. As such strays will be euthanized “if their behavior poses a threat to human and animal life, they are terminally ill, or their culling is necessary to prevent the spread of an acute infections disease.”
Existing measures
In 2018, after securing a victory in the presidential election, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan vowed to bolster existing animal protection laws. In 2021, the Turkish parliament approved a new bill on animal rights. The law banned the sale of all cats and dogs at pet shops, classifying them as “living beings” rather than commodities, and made animal abuse punishable by up to four years in prison. Under the new act, pit bulls, Tosas, and other stereotypically dangerous dog breeds were banned from being bred and sold. Those found guilty of violating the act were subject to fines. The act also required pet owners to register their pets with digital IDs. On December 7, 2021, the animal protection bill was amended, requiring owners of breeds classified as “dangerous” to sterilize and register them with authorities before January 2022.
In December 2021, Erdoğan called on all city municipalities across the country to round up stray dogs and send them to shelters. The president also demanded that pet owners whom he called “white Turks” — a term used to identify individuals who are secular, Western, and mostly leftist — mind their pets. At the time, the controversy was stirred when a four-year-old girl was attacked by two off-leash pit bulls in Turkey’s Gaziantep province, prompting calls for the owner of the two dogs to be harshly punished. After Erdoğan spoke in Ankara, many municipalities started violently rounding up stray dogs from the streets.
The existing Animal Rights Bill requires every municipality to run a shelter. But only 294 of 1,394 municipalities have shelters, and those that do, still lack resources, funding, and often struggle to provide effective sterilization. At best, they can accommodate about 100,000 strays. Moreover, there have been numerous instances of inhumane treatment of strays at shelters.
Animal rights activists say the only humane animal control method is to sterilize, vaccinate, and then release them back where they were found. Exceptions however should apply to dogs identified as dangerous by animal welfare volunteers. These dogs should be housed in neighborhood care centers.
As per the amendments approved on July 24, strays collected from the streets will be kept at shelters after their rehabilitation until they are adopted; the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry will be tasked with documentation; and in cases when the stray dog is carrying an infectious disease and cannot be treated, is dangerous or exhibits negative behavior, it will be euthanized by a veterinarian or under the supervision of a veterinarian.
The approved text also includes requirements for municipalities that are obligated to set up animal care homes; and in case, municipality leaders fail to deliver these terms, they may face anywhere from six months to two years in prison; the deadline to set up care facilities and improve conditions in existing ones is set for December 31, 2028. For veteran journalist Rusen Cakir, this specific article has the potential to leave opposition-led municipalities in a challenging situation especially for those municipalities which secured victories in recent municipal elections, taking over AKP run municipalities with significant financial debts.
Heated discussions
During the discussions, opposition MPs said the ruling party may as well call the bill the “Murder of animals” bill instead of “Animal Protection Bill.” In response, AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik said it was “unfair to portray this [bill] as a massacre. Our desire is for our streets to become safe.”
Activists argue if the ruling party wants to keep the streets safe, they should start by ensuring that Turkish people's rights and freedoms are respected. The ruling party's failure to address the safety of mine workers, those in fundamentalist religious housing, or women who are victims of femicides — the rates of which far outpace the number of accidents caused by stray dogs.
Journalist Ismail Ari described this in a tweet on X in response to an infographic shared by state broadcaster TRT which claimed that in the last three years 10 deaths, 2,389 injuries, and 6,530 victims were reported as a result of strays. The broadcast also claimed strays have caused 2,666 traffic accidents, in which 37 people died and 3,898 were injured:
TRT, iş cinayetinde ölenlerin, tarikat ve cemaat yurtlarında öldürülenlerin, katledilen kadınların verisini paylaşmaz ama! https://t.co/s8DCXCLwbz
— İsmail Arı (@ismailari_) July 22, 2024
TRT won't share data on work-related deaths, those killed in religious community run housing, or killed women.
According to the Health and Safety Labor Watch (ISIG), a civil society group in Turkey, 878 workers died in the first six months of 2024. The group considers all work-related accidents preventable and therefore, describes fatal workplace accidents as workplace murder. A platform that tracks femicides in Turkey reports that as of July, a total of 223 women have been killed in Turkey. All the while the influence of religious sects and communities continues unabated — there are some 30 religious communities and sects, according to existing research, which have only flourished under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The ruling party officials have been vocal about the value of human life over strays amid ongoing debates on the amendments proposed to the animal rights bill. But judging by the numbers cited above, these statements ring hollow in a country where it is easier to address visible, attention-drawing issues such as stray dogs, rather than more subtle, insidious issues such as workplace safety and gender-based violence.