July, 30 2024 – The Turkish Parliament (Turkish Grand National Assembly) has approved the new law – renamed as “Massacre Law” by animal rights adovcates – aimed at removing millions of stray dogs and cats from Turkey’s streets. As per amendments approved on July 24, stray animals will be collected from the streets ending up in neglected and overcrowded municipal shelters for being euthanized if they are not adopoted.

The law states that dogs who are sick, those who have diseases that can be transmitted to any other animal (paragraph concerning diseases transmitted to other animals is however not clear, as it may be any disease, even those that can be easily treated like flu), dogs belonging to prohibited breeds, such as pitbulls and dogo argentinos, and dogs considered dangerous to human or environmental health will be euthanised immediately. 

The government estimates that around 4 million stray dogs roam in Turkey. However, since there are not enough places in the shelters — there are currently 322 animal shelters (only 298 out of 1,403 municipalities) with a capacity for 105,000 dogs, according to the bill — it is very luckily that stray animals will be killed.

Municipalities will be given time until 2028 to build new shelters and improve current facilities, spending at least 0.3% of their annual budget on animal rehabilitation services and building shelters – the law says – but we all know that euthanasia and imprisonment are not the solution for handling properly dog and cat population.

“We were deeply saddened to learn about the Turkish Government’s decision to enacting a new law that would result in the “euthanasia” of thousands of stray animals within the country. Turkey will be another nation on the “black list” for implementing inhumane dog population control methods, instead of allocating resources towards ethical alternatives that are proven to benefit both animals and communities in the long run. In 2024, we possess enough means to address the problem of stray animal overpopulation without harming or killing any creatures. It’s time to change, it’s time to respect animals and respect citizens who want them to be protected!”

OIPA condemns the decision of the Turkish Parliament to pass this terrific law, despite the massive international pressure to put a halt to.

In addition to the letter that we sent to the Turkish Government, the protest email that we asked people to sign and the protest in Ankara that we took part in last June, we also co-signed with over 100 NGOs a letter that the Animal Save Movement submitted to the Turkish Parliament.

Nilgün Engin, Ankara Animal Save organizer, said, “The new law is neither applicable nor fair. It is essentially a death penalty for all strays, including cats. There are no shelters to keep them off the streets; therefore, the authorities will decide to kill them due to overpopulation. We do not accept this, and we will not obey this law. Dogs and cats are a part of our culture, and we are determined to keep them safe as our neighbors.”

Following this news, the President of our member association in Ankara Bir Pati De Sen Tut declares: “We have more than 100 dogs and 50 cats in our feeding spots. Now, we are looking for options about what we can do to save them. I don’t have strength. We have a small private shelter, which is at its full capacity because we are overwhelmed of unadopted animals! We will now try to understand how many new sectors we can build, but we do not have enough resources. I am so sad, disappointed, angry. Everything is meaningless now. What about the animals we cannot reach and help? This is horrific!”

Animals in Turkey need help urgently. Associations and animal rescuers are looking for international support to:

Rehome street animals or animals in shelters

Collect donations to secure animals in boarding facilities

Find Foster families abroad  to make overseas adoptions easier

and any other help would be much appreciated.

Please, don’t leave our strays alone!”

If you want to adopt a dog or cat from Turkey or give financial support you can contact Bir Pati: https://birpatidesentut.com/contact

It’s time to speak up and urge the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye to stop the law that would allow the killing of stray animals throughout the country.

Take action now and send your protest email 

Given the well-known poor condition of current shelters in Turkey, this law would lead to mass slaughters.  Niğde and Altındağ municipalities have already begun mass slaughter, as revealed by footage from these regions. A large mass grave has been found in the shelter grounds belonging to the Niğde Municipality, one of the municipalities claiming to be implementing the law introduced under the pretext of “aggressive dogs,” or that the dogs have died of “natural causes, car accidents, or illnesses.” The dead body of a three-legged dog, who had just given birth and was cared for and loved by volunteers in the area, was among the bodies in the shelter owned by Niğde province. As the dogs were covered in blood, veterinarians believe that they did not die of natural causes or were killed through “euthanasia” with a lethal injection as it is claimed, but that they were slaughtered in different ways.

Right after Niğde, another mass grave was found on the grounds of a shelter belonging to the Altındağ district of Ankara, the capital of Turkey. This mass grave revealed dog corpses buried in rather poor condition or thrown away in bags. Since the bodies of the animals were deformed and covered in blood, clearly these dogs did not die of “natural causes” either. The animal bodies are recovered from the ground and taken by the authorities for examination. Ankara Bar Association Animal Rights Centre lawyers, who have been following the case, stated that veterinarians have reached a preliminary conclusion that the animals were killed with a poisonous substance. In light of the knowledge and experience gained from previous mass killings in Turkey, it is believed that these poisonous substances were chemicals such as bleach or insecticides. As a matter of fact, the municipalities are trying to carry out the killings in the cheapest ways possible.

Photo credits: @WeAnimalsMedia

July, 17 2024 – The draft bill proposed by the AK Party regarding the “euthanasia” of stray animals was discussed in the Turkish Commission. A second discussion has been scheduled on the agenda in the next few days. If the bill passes, it will be finally voted by the Turkish Parliament.

Premise – The Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkey has put forth a draft bill that would permit the capture and euthanasia of stray animals across the nation. This distressing development follows the resurgence of the issue of dog over population, prompting President Erdoğan to take urgent action.

The proposed law mandates that municipalities collect strays and confined them to shelters that many time turn to be horrific death centers. Dogs not adopted within 30 days will be euthanized as well as healthy dogs, spayed/neutered dogs, non-aggressive dogs, not to talk about sick dogs and  banned breeds .

This proposal is based on the incorrect and unproven idea that spaying and neutering methods are ineffective, justifying in this way a massacre of innocent beings. Instead of investing in sustainable and ethical approaches, municipalities are opting for a cruel and inhumane solution. The proposed law also highlights the failure of many municipalities to meet the requirement to create shelters, as outlined in the revised Animal Rights Law of 2021.