Take Action! Urge the Government of Turkey to reject the amendment allowing euthanasia for stray animals throughout the country. Send your protest email now.
The Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkey drafted a bill that would amend the Animal Rights Law revised in 2021, after the issue of country’s stray dog population recently resurfaced alarming President Erdoğan to take urgent action.
Parliament will vote a law on Friday, May 24, which allows the capture and euthanasia of stray animals throughout the country.
The proposed draft law will require each municipality to collect strays and post photographs of dogs in their shelters on an adoption website. Dogs who are not adopted within 30 days will undergo euthanasia by lethal injection.
The incorrect and unproved idea that spaying and neutering method is ineffective, this proposal will justify a massacre of innocent beings.
The reality is that municipalities did not invest and do not want to allocate financial resources to sucessfully implement this sustainable and humane approach. An alternative that can save animals’ lives, while reducing stray dog population over time.
In addition, a considerable number of municipalities failed to meet the requirement to create a shelter, as outlined in the Animal Rights Law, which was revised in 2021.
The Animal Rights Law required municipalities to allocate 0.5% of their finalized budgets over three years for animal shelters and rehabilitation. They set this rate at 0.3% for metropolitan municipalities.
Humans should not take animals’ lives away due to their inability to properly manage a problem.
Read OIPA letter to the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye: Open Letter – OIPA Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi – Reject the amendment that will allow euthanasia for stray animals Throughout The Country
To: receptayyip.erdogan@basbakanlik.gov.tr, baskanlik@tbmm.gov.tr, contact@tccb.gov.tr, ozelkalem@tbmm.gov.tr
Object: Reject the draft bill that will allow euthanasia for stray animals in Turkey
Body:
I am deeply concerned about the fate waiting for stray animals in your country if the draft bill proposed by the Justice and Development Party will be voted at the Parliament.
Taking animals\’ lives away due to humans\’ inability to properly manage an alleged public and security problem is unacceptable.
This proposal is an announced massacre of innocent beings, and it comes after the wrong and unproved belief that spaying and neutering method is not effective.
The reality is that municipalities did not invest as required in the Animal Rights Law revised in 2021 and still do not effectively want to allocate financial resources to implement a sustainable and humane spaying and neutering program, which will save the lives of animals while reducing dog population in the long term.
I therefore demand to not support and vote for this bill but to choose a compassionate alternative. A peaceful co-existence human-animal is possible, through proper sterilization and vaccination programs and public awareness on how to approach animals.