A stray dog rests outside Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. A Turkish parliamentary commission on Wednesday began a tense debate on a bill designed to manage the country’s large stray dog population which animal … more >
By Suzan Fraser - Associated Press - Wednesday, July 17, 2024
ANKARA, Turkey — A Turkish parliamentary commission began a tense debate Wednesday on a bill to manage the country’s large stray dog population that animal advocates fear could result in the widespread killing of the animals.
The legislation, submitted to parliament by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party, is pitting groups advocating for safer streets free of the feral dogs against animal rights activists who are demanding the withdrawal of the bill.
Erdogan has stated that approximately four million stray animals are wandering the streets and rural areas of Turkey. While many of them are docile, an increasing numbers of dogs are seen roaming in packs and numerous people have been attacked.
The legislation being debated in parliament’s agriculture and rural affairs commission is a diluted version of an initial proposal that would have required the strays to be rounded up, housed in shelters and euthanized if they are not adopted within 30 days.
That proposal, which was leaked to the media, had ignited a public uproar, with animal rights activists arguing it would result in the mass extermination of unadopted dogs.
The revised proposal forces municipalities to remove the stray dogs from the streets and place them into shelters where they would be neutered and spayed. Dogs that are sick, believed to have rabies or exhibiting aggressive behavior would be euthanized.
Municipalities would also be required to build dog shelters or improve conditions in existing shelters by 2028.
The revised bill has failed to ease concerns, with activists arguing that certain municipalities may opt for the easy solution of conducting a mass culling of the stray animals instead of allocating resources toward shelters.
The parliament’s agriculture and rural affairs commission meeting began tumultuously when the committee chair demanded that media, NGO representatives and other observers exit the room, citing insufficient space to accommodate everyone. The meeting was later moved to a larger room.
The parliament’s agriculture and rural affairs commission meeting began tumultuously when the committee chair demanded that media, NGO representatives and other observers exit the room, citing insufficient space to accommodate everyone. The meeting was later moved to a larger room.
No comments:
Post a Comment