An 18-hour-long meeting yesterday revealed how deeply divided Turkish society is currently on solving the problem of stray animals.
Parliamentarians negotiated the entire proposal on amendments to the animal protection law regarding stray animals. The debate was heated and even saw shoes being thrown at opposition politicians. Now negotiations will begin on the articles and the commission will meet again Monday.
The issue, which continues to be a challenge throughout the world, has stirred up the people with human health and safety rising as the main concerns on one hand while preserving the lives of innocent animals lies on the other.
Recent periods have seen increasing attacks of stray dogs, especially against children and elderly people, while these animals have also been frequently causing road accidents and spreading diseases.
Currently, everyone – whether being an animal lover or against having animals – agrees on one thing – stray animals do constitute a problem. The division, however, is rooted in the means to solve it.
Last week, a law proposal was submitted to Parliament and the debate inflamed once again.
The 17-article proposal of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is supported by its allies, while the opposition is largely against it in its current state and demands changes.
The "catch-neuter-release" method in the current law is being abandoned and the "catch-neuter-keep-adopt" method is being suggested.
However, the authority is given the right to euthanize animals that have rabies, infectious diseases or incurable diseases, or that are prohibited from being adopted. Moreover, if the stray animal population poses a threat to public security, healthy animals can also be euthanized according to the proposal. This could open the way for authorities to interpret the law as they see fit and circumvent the problem by using this easy method.
Nongovernmental organizations and animal lovers fear that this could lead to a massacre as several incidents have been experienced previously of local municipality workers collectively killing animals.
The stray animal population in Türkiye is estimated to be around 4 million, and shelters are not enough nor are they in a good enough state.
The new law suggests that capacity be increased and gives the responsibility to local municipalities. It demands that municipalities use a certain percentage of their budget every year for this problem.
The mayor and council members who do not allocate the necessary resources for stray dogs and the mayor and municipal officials who use the resources allocated for animals for other purposes will be sentenced to imprisonment from six months to two years. The municipalities, in cooperation with voluntary organizations, will be obliged to establish the specified animal shelters and improve their conditions until the end of 2028. Adoption will be the goal, while care and treatment will be provided.
On the other side, while administrative fines will be increased for those who abandon their pets on the streets, sanctions will also be imposed on municipalities that take animals out of the shelter and leave them elsewhere. Those who abandon their animals on the street will be given an administrative fine of TL 60,000 ($1,860), and municipalities that abandon their pets on the streets will be given an administrative fine of TL 50,000 per animal.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) wants the law proposal to be withdrawn and a new one to be drafted with the participation of all sides. Furthermore, it holds the AK Party responsible for having authority over several municipalities over the years and not actively tackling the problem during this period.
While the political debate in Parliament and the public debate on the street continues, disinformation dominates the digital space. The law is mostly seen as an attempt to simply kill all stray animals, while details are highly disregarded on social media.
What needs to be done? The current proposal should be revised and reworded if necessary with the demands of all sides or a new one must be crafted and then properly explained to the public. Prevention should be the main priority. People have to be prevented from adopting pets and then leaving them. Even pets should be encouraged to be neutered to prevent reproduction and be microchipped to be found in case they get lost. Most important of all, the public needs to be educated on the responsibilities of adopting pets. When it comes to the authorities, the most effective way is for local municipalities to tackle the issue within their area of responsibility. Both through the official budget and through donations from animal lovers, high-quality shelters have to be established where adoption will be encouraged and reproduction prevented. These animals taken from the streets must be registered by the authorities to prevent people from performing illegal acts on them.
The AK Party’s proposal and willingness to solve the problem is a step in the right direction toward solving a problem that has been causing ever-growing pain in the country. Now, all sides have to determine the priorities and come up with an agreed-upon text that will leave the next generation without the dangers that are brought by stray animals.
