Turkey passes law to get stray dogs off the streets and into shelters

Turkey's parliament on Tuesday approved a law that aims to round up millions of stray dogs and put them into shelters, a plan that has alarmed animal lovers who say a mass neutering campaign would be a better solution.

Under the legislation, proposed by the President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK party, municipalities would have to get the strays off the streets and into shelters. Any dogs showing aggressive behaviour or that have untreatable diseases will be put down.

Under previous legislation, municipalities have to neuter and vaccinate all street dogs and leave them where they were found following treatment.

The population of street dogs in Turkey is estimated to be 4 million, and municipalities have neutered around 2.5 million in the past 20 years, according to the draft bill. The animals are often taken care of by neighbourhood residents and treated like pets.

An animal rights activist shouts slogans during a rally to protest against a bill drafted by the government that aims to remove stray dogs off the country's streets, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya/File Photo

There are currently 322 animal shelters with a capacity for 105,000 dogs, according to the bill.

The law also requires all municipalities to spend at least 0.3% of their annual budget on animal rehabilitation services and building shelters.

Municipalities will be given time until 2028 to build new shelters and improve current shelters, the law says.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets over the past few weeks to protest against the law, occasionally scuffling with police.