Thousands of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul tonight to protest against a recent law that critics say will allow the killing of stray dogs across Turkey.
Last month, lawmakers approved a new law aimed at removing millions of stray dogs from Turkey's streets, which they say could threaten the safety of citizens.
Animal lovers fear that this will lead to large-scale culling or that the dogs will end up in shelters that are already overcrowded and suitable for the spread of various diseases.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the law is necessary to solve the problem of stray dogs in the country.
Demonstrators today called for the law to be repealed, waving placards reading "dog shelters are death camps" and "we want the bloody law withdrawn."
The main opposition Republican People's Party decided to overturn the law in the Constitutional Court less than two weeks after it was passed.
The government estimates that around four million dogs roam the streets and rural areas of Turkey. Although most are harmless, several people, including children, have been attacked.
A report published by Safe Streets and the Defense of the Right to Life, an organization that fights to remove all stray dogs from the streets, states that 65 people have died in street dog attacks since 2022.
The new law requires municipalities to catch stray dogs and place them in shelters so they can be vaccinated and sterilized before making them available for adoption.
Dogs that are sick, terminally ill or pose a health risk to humans will be euthanized. The original bill included cats, but that article was changed after a public outcry.
However, many are wondering where, in the absence of money, municipalities would find the money to build the necessary additional shelters.
Animal rights activists worry that some municipalities could kill dogs under the pretense that they are sick, rather than allocate funds to shelter them.
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