The Turkish parliament passed a controversial law permitting the euthanasia of stray dogs on Tuesday, following 28 hours of debate. The bill, supported by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) coalition, was approved with 275 votes in favour and 224 against.
The debate over the 17-article bill began on Saturday, with discussions lasting 14 hours on Sunday, during which the first five articles were accepted, despite significant protests. The fifth provision allowing certain street dogs to be put down was amended to remove the term “euthanasia”. However the amendment still permitted euthanasia under specific circumstances according to veterinary regulations.
Several parties, including the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, tried to exclude the fifth provision but were unsuccessful. CHP MP Deniz Yavuzyılmaz criticised the bill, stating, “With this proposal, the AKP is essentially saying ‘street dogs will either die or be killed.’ This article means death! You want to kill animals! You won’t be able to look your children in the eye.” DEM Party MP Perihan Koca called the bill a “massacre law”, adding, “You manipulated the public by saying ‘euthanasia is being removed’, but you are bringing euthanasia back in the worst form.”
Despite opposition protests, the bill was fully approved early in the early hours of Tuesday. The parliament will now recess until 1 October.
Animal rights activists have been protesting the bill for 67 days. Speaking in Ankara, Can Irmak Özinanır, an animal rights activist, stated, “Our response to this cruelty is resistance. We have always been on the side of those who fight for life, not those who cut down trees for profit.”
Özinanır criticised the government’s attempts to push the law through by polarising society, stating, “This time, it didn’t work. Millions have united under the slogan ‘we will not give up our friends.’ Despite the government’s attempts to demonise us, we stood firm.”
Özinanır highlighted the consequences of the bill even before its implementation, mentioning a young veterinarian who committed suicide in protest. “Streets have become places of public violence, where animals and women are openly brutalised,” she said. “We will not allow you to turn our streets into slaughterhouses. We will write our laws on the streets.”
In Istanbul, activists gathered in Şişhane Square, chanting slogans such as “Murderer Erdoğan” and “AKP, hands off the animals.” Sevcan Çamlıdağ, speaking on behalf of the crowd, condemned the government’s actions, stating, “You cannot put the right to life up for a vote. We will not allow you to commit murder for profit.”
Özge Özgüner, another activist, added, “You cannot vote on the right to life. We will continue our collective resistance and build solidarity networks in every neighbourhood. We will not surrender a single one of our friends to your bloody hands.”
