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A glimpse into Turkey's stray animal crisis

Oct. 2024

Sources: AP News, Bianet, Laws Turkey, Politico

Turkey passed its first comprehensive animal protection Law, Law No. 5199 on Animal Protection. This law outlined regulations for animal welfare, including penalties for those who harm animals.

As Turkey's urban stray population grew, campaigns spreading public awareness began surfacing more prominently. Boroughs, especially in large cities like Istanbul, faced increasing pressure to manage the issues of stray dogs humanely.

Turkey's Parliament passed Law No. 7332, which officially recognized animals as living beings. The law increased penalties for violence against animals and required the opening of clinics to sterilize stray animals.

Many high-profile incidents involving stray dogs attacking people in busy cities raised alarm. As a result, parts of Turkey began rounding up stray dogs, sparking outrage from animal rights groups and the majority of Turkey's population.

Turkey's Parliament passed the "massacre law", a controversial measure allowing boroughs to remove and euthanize many stray dogs. It was presented as a solution to the growing stray animal crisis, worsened by years of governmental neglect.

Protests over Turkey's stray dog crisis have surged. Animal rights groups demand the government prioritize sterilization over the 2024 "massacre law," which allows mass killings. The Turkish population has demanded humane solutions.