Turkey Passes Contentious Law to Keep Stray Dogs Off Streets

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Facts

• Turkey's parliament on Tuesday passed legislation — proposed by Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party — that will allow authorities to house millions of stray dogs in shelters.^[1]
• Dubbed by the opposition as a 'massacre law,' the legislation mandates local governments to round up, neuter, spay, vaccinate, and place stray dogs for adoption.^[2]
• In addition, there's a provision to euthanize dogs that 'pose a danger to the life and health of humans and animals,' exhibit aggressive behavior, or have 'an infectious or incurable disease.'^[3]
• The law also allows for prison sentences of up to two years for mayors who refuse to enforce it. However, according to Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc, culling stray dogs 'for no reason' would result in repercussions.^[4]
• Turkey's main opposition, the Republican People's Party, has vowed to challenge the legislation at the Supreme Court, claiming it 'violates the animals' right to life.'^[5]
• Turkey has an estimated 4M stray dogs — usually congregating in packs — and a sizeable stray cat population. However, the law doesn't target the stray felines.^[6]

Sources: ^[1]Reuters, ^[2]Time, ^[3]The National, ^[4]Euronews, ^[5]DAWN.COM and ^[6]Guardian.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Daily Sabah. This law is necessary to address the country's stray dog problem, as the current sterilization system is insufficient to curb the increasing number of stray dogs or address public safety concerns. The opposition is presenting it as a massacre law to resurrect its dwindling vote bank. In essence, it's an adoption law that would keep Turkey's streets safer for people amid a surge in dog attacks.
• Narrative B, as provided by New York Times. This is an immoral, inhumane, and legally broken law. Resorting to mass euthanasia of dogs or locking the homeless canines in overcrowded, underfunded shelters isn't a solution; it's a crime. The Erdoğan government just wants to hide its failure to implement existing legislation that requires municipalities to catch, tag, neuter, vaccinate, and re-release stray dogs. This is a cruel way to redirect people's anger from Turkey's cost-of-living crisis.

Predictions