Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul on Sunday to protest a new law that critics argue is leading to the widespread killing of stray dogs across Turkey.
Legislators passed the controversial law last month, aiming to remove millions of stray dogs from Turkish streets due to safety concerns. However, animal advocates fear that the law will result in mass culling or force dogs into overcrowded, disease-ridden shelters.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended the legislation as necessary to address the nation’s “stray dog problem.”
During Sunday’s protest, demonstrators demanded the law be repealed, holding signs that read ‘shelters are death camps’ and ‘withdraw the bloody law.’
“We demand the immediate repeal of this law,” said Hasan Kizilyatak, a 64-year-old protester, in an interview with The Associated Press. “These stray dogs are living beings, just like us. We stand here today because we oppose their annihilation.”
Ayten Arslan, 55, who expressed support for Erdogan, also joined the protest.
“Just as we stood with our president on July 15, 2016, during the coup attempt, we are here now for the stray animals,” Arslan told the AP. “Even as an AK Party supporter, I say this law is a bloody law.”
The main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, moved to challenge the law in the Constitutional Court less than two weeks after it was enacted.
The government estimates that around 4 million stray dogs roam Turkey’s urban and rural areas. While most of these dogs are harmless, there have been several attacks, some involving children.
A report by the Safe Streets and Defense of the Right to Life Association, which campaigns for the removal of all stray dogs from public spaces, states that 65 people have died in street dog attacks since 2022.
The new law mandates that municipalities collect stray dogs, vaccinate, neuter, and spay them before making them available for adoption. Dogs that are suffering, terminally ill, or pose a health risk to humans will be euthanized. Initially, the draft bill included cats, but public backlash led to their exclusion.
Despite the law’s intentions, many are skeptical about how cash-strapped municipalities will finance the additional shelters required.
Animal rights activists fear that some municipalities might resort to killing dogs under the guise of illness rather than investing in proper sheltering.
Recent videos circulating on social media show dead cats and dogs buried in ditches, which activists claim were killed indiscriminately following the law’s passage.