Turkey passes law to round up stray dogs, opposition vows appeal

Turkey's parliament passed a law on Tuesday to round up millions of stray dogs and put them into shelters despite protests by animal lovers and criticism from the main opposition party, which vowed to challenge the legislation in court.

The law, drawn up by President Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, has touched a raw nerve in Turkey, where many think it will lead to large numbers of dogs being put down.

Turkey has an estimated 4 million stray dogs and supporters of the law cited concerns about attacks, road accidents and rabies. Under the new rules, any dogs showing aggressive behavior or that have untreatable diseases will be put down.

It was approved with 275 votes in favor and 224 against.

Animal rights activists have called instead for neutering campaigns to be stepped up, and the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said it would appeal against the legislation in the Constitutional Court.

The country currently has 322 animal shelters with a capacity for 105,000 dogs, according to the bill, far short of what would be needed to round up the number of strays.


Reuters