Turkey’s parliament passed a law to round up millions of stray dogs and take them to shelters on Tuesday, despite protests from animal lovers and criticism from the opposition.
The law is causing a backlash in Türkiye as many believe it will lead to killing large number of dogs.
In Türkiye, there are an estimated 4 million lost dogs, while supporters of the law cite concerns about the potential for attacks, causing traffic accidents and rabies.
According to the new regulations, anyone who has a dog aggressive behavior O incurable diseases they will be killed.
The bill was approved with 275 votes in favor and 224 against.
Animal rights activists have called for increased sterilization campaigns and the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said it would appeal the law to the Constitutional Court.
“unconstitutional”
“The bill is clearly unconstitutional and does not defend the right to life,” CHP leader Ozgur Özel said after the vote, adding that municipalities had limited funds to tackle the task of removing so many dogs from the streets.
“We will do more than necessary in terms of building more shelters, Mr. vaccination, sterilization and adoption, but it is not possible to achieve this objective with the means that the municipalities have”, he added.
The country currently has 322 animal shelters with the capacity to house 105,000 dogs, according to the bill, far fewer than needed to house so many stray dogs.
The burden on Municipalities
The law requires all municipalities to spend at least 0.3% of their annual budget on animal rehoming services and building improved shelters, although they get an extension until 2028 to do so.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent weeks – sometimes clashing with police – holding signs and shouting slogans such as “You can’t kill them” and “Remove the law.”
A poll showed that less than 3% are in favor of killing them, while almost 80% are in favor of transferring them to shelters.