Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul today to protest a recently passed law to remove stray dogs from the Turkish streets, reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
Last month, lawmakers approved a new law aimed at removing millions of stray dogs from Turkish streets, citing safety concerns. Animal lovers fear that the rule will lead to the widespread slaughter of dogs or to them ending up in overcrowded shelters with many diseases.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the law was needed to solve the "stray dog problem" in the country.
Protesters on Sunday called for the law to be repealed, waving placards reading "shelters are death camps" and "repeal the damn law”.
"We want this law repealed immediately,”, a protester told the Associated Press. "They (stray dogs) are living beings, just like us. We are here because we are against them being destroyed.
The main opposition force, the People's Republic Party, filed a request to annul the law in the Constitutional Court less than two weeks after its adoption.
According to government estimates, about 4 million stray dogs roam the streets and rural areas of Turkey. Although most of them are harmless, several people, including children, have been attacked.
A report published by the Safe Streets and Right to Life Association, an organization that campaigns to remove all stray dogs from the streets, says that since 2022, 65 people have died in street dog attacks .
The new law requires municipalities to round up stray dogs and place them in shelters to be vaccinated, neutered and dewormed before putting them up for adoption. Dogs that are in pain, terminally ill or pose a health risk to humans will be euthanized. The original draft law also included cats, but this article was changed after public outcry.