Urgent call for street dogs in Turkiye!

Despite widespread public outcry, strong opposition from NGOs/ professional bodies, the AKP government is about to pass a new law, possibly next week, aiming to imprison stray dogs in “death camp-shelters”, and kill them if not adopted in 30 days.

Instead of holding local governments accountable for their duties under Animal Protection Law —which they’ve neglected for the past 20 years since its enactment— dogs have been vilified/criminalized by the Presidency, ministries and partisan media for the last several years.

Now, the government calls the new massacre plans “the European model”.

We vehemently oppose this punitive measure against animals, which fails to address the negligence of local governments in adhering to the law, which mandates the care, sterilization, vaccination, and return of animals to their original environments.

Across Turkey, citizens, NGOs (including our own) and professional groups are in protest to halt the passage of any legislation in the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye that could jeopardize dogs’ basic rights. We are convinced that without accountability for the true offenders and their duties towards animals, the issues will only worsen.

By tagging the authorities mentioned below in your comments and reposts on social media, and using #SokaktayımYanındayım #StandingWUinStreets hashtags, we urge you to call on the President, government, ministries, and local municipalities:

• to fulfil their ethical/legal duties, and advocate for the improvement of existing laws in favor of animals.
• to start implementing advanced spaying/vaccination programs, alongside education/awareness campaigns to ensure the health/well-being of animals and secure their centuries-long place in society.

In the current context where both legal and illegal breeding are permitted and abandoning animals, as well as killing them, goes unpunished, the dog population cannot be effectively balanced. Dogs living in streets will continue to be collected, confined, and killed in an endless cycle of violence and unaccountability.

Tags for Instagram 👉🏽 @rterdogan @ibrahimyumakli_tr @yenisehirlioglu @tbmmresmi

Tags for X 👉🏽 @RTErdogan @ibrahimyumakli @Yenisehirlioglu @TBMMresmi

Thanks for your support!  

Read our call to global media and NGOs here.