Turkey walks back controversial stray dogs bill amid fears of mass cullings

ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party walked back the controversial stray dog bill amid uproar from animal rights activists who have claimed that the ambiguous phrasing of the text could lead to the mass culling of the country’s roughly 4 million stray dogs. 

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will introduce a change to the text of the bill to narrow the scope of conditions under which stray dogs can be euthanized, Turkey’s private HaberTurk television and several other news outlets reported Monday, citing AKP sources.

The draft bill’s current text allows local municipalities to euthanize all dogs that pose a threat to “public safety.” The broad definition prompted accusations from animal rights activists and opposition voices, who argued that local municipalities could seek a shortcut solution by opting for mass culling of dogs in their jurisdictions. Under the new guidelines, stray dogs will be euthanized only if their behavior poses a threat to human and animal life, they are terminally ill, or their culling is necessary to prevent the spread of an acute infectious disease, according to reports. 

Local municipalities are largely seen as one of the main culprits of the country’s stray dog problem, as they failed to neuter the dogs in their areas, ignoring their responsibilities under current national law. More than 100 people, including 50 children, have died over the past two years as a result of dog attacks or in traffic accidents caused by stray dogs, according to a report released by the Safe Streets and Defense of the Right to Life Association in June. The association was founded by Murat and Derya Pinar, whose 10-year-old daughter died in a vehicle accident as she was escaping a pack of dogs in 2022. The Pinars have been campaigning for the removal of all stray dogs from streets since then.

Derya, who joined in the tense parliamentary debate over the bill last Wednesday, slammed her daughter’s shoes on a desk after a heated exchange with opposition lawmakers who are against the bill. Animal rights activists who were kicked out of the debate last week were denied entry on Monday.

The bill, if approved by the parliament’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, will proceed to a full floor vote. It is expected to pass with the support of AKP members and their allies in the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).