Turkey has approved the “massacre law”, as it has been called by animal rights activists.
The street dogs in the country must be removed and placed in kennels.
Animal lovers now fear that a large percentage of the dogs will be killed.
There are around 4 million street dogs in Turkey. They are cared for by local residents, fed by shop owners and appreciated by a large part of the population, writes international media.
– Turkish society is a society that is used to living together with animals. In our villages and our cities, you see dogs and cats everywhere, says a Turkish woman protesting on the streets of Istanbul.
The question divides the residents
The new law, which was voted through on Tuesday, has faced major protests in recent weeks. Thousands have demonstrated in Ankara and Istanbul. The issue divides residents into two camps. Some are worried about dog attacks, traffic accidents and rabies.
– They should remove the dogs from the street and find homes for them, or put them under protection, says Adem Coskun, whose grandson was bitten by a street dog, to News Agency AP.
Those who are against the law point, among other things, to the fact that the street dogs have lived peacefully for hundreds of years and that they are almost always harmless and kind.
Fears overcrowded dog shelters
Behind the law is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with allies. The municipalities must eventually remove the street dogs and place them in dog shelters, where they must be vaccinated and castrated before they are made available for adoption. Aggressive or sick dogs must be euthanized.
To save all the millions of dogs, a massive expansion of dog shelters is required. Today there is only room for roughly 100,000 dogs. This causes animal rights organizations to fear overcrowded homes and mass culling.
– The fact is that these animals, who look into our eyes and ask for help, will be wiped out. As far as I know, no one can take a life created by God, says Cigdem Aksoy who lives in Ankara.