Regulation on stray dogs causes rift in AKP: 'We will not allow the ban to be discussed'

The 'regulation on stray dogs', which has been among the most debated topics for months, was submitted to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) by the AKP last week.

The regulation on stray dogs, which drew criticism from a large segment of society due to its inclusion of 'euthanasia', also caused confusion within the AKP.

While it was learned that many AKP deputies said, "We will not allow the ban to be discussed," it is expected that the deliberations to be held in the General Assembly of Parliament will be postponed to the next legislative year.

MANY AKP DEPUTIES SHOWED REACTION

The regulation submitted to Parliament, which has been declared by public statements to grant local governments the authority to kill dogs, has received intense backlash from opposition parties.

Although not voiced aloud, according to information reflected in the lobbies following the euthanasia proposal, many AKP deputies also showed great reaction against the legal amendment. According to the report by journalist Hilal Köylü, the number of objections from within the AKP is quite high.

Upon the number of deputies within the AKP who reacted to the relevant regulation being higher than expected, it was decided to leave the euthanasia regulation to the next legislative year.

İMAMOĞLU OBJECTED TO THE REGULATION BASED ON 9 POINTS

Another reaction to the euthanasia regulation came from Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.

İmamoğlu explained why the regulation submitted by the AKP would not be a solution to the problem of stray dogs in 9 points he shared on his social media account, and listed the steps that should be taken as follows:

“Why is the draft law on stray animals that has come to the agenda of the TBMM inapplicable?

-Even the current law has not been fully implemented, a sufficient number of shelters have not been opened by the relevant administrations, sterilization has not been carried out, and personnel and resources have not been allocated. The relevant ministries have also not provided the necessary support in this regard.

-It is a fact that there are citizens who are attacked by stray animals in some regions, but it is intended to impose the same practice everywhere without analyzing in which regions these cases are concentrated. There are many regions, provinces, and districts where animal and human welfare is ensured and this life balance is achieved very successfully.

-Adoption efforts have not been carried out sufficiently to date. Although there are many successful examples in this regard, no widespread and effective incentive work has been done.”

“Collecting them in the targeted time is both impossible and will further increase the population”

“-It is both impossible to collect stray animals into shelters in the time targeted in the draft law, and it is a fact that such collection will further increase the population.

-Reducing or ending the cat and dog population in some regions will disrupt the biological balance and lead to the proliferation of other rodents and wild animals. There are many examples of this in the world.

-Illegal or unregulated pet sales and production have not been brought under control.

-No inspection or enforcement has been carried out against local governments that do not carry out the necessary work on this issue, and the ministry has not intervened when necessary.

-The budget required for the implementation of the new draft law is much larger than the budget required for the implementation of the current law.”

“Most importantly, the deep destruction that the putting to sleep of living creatures that have become a part of our lives will create in consciences”

“-Most importantly, it is the deep destruction that the putting to sleep of millions of these living creatures, which we have domesticated over a long historical period and which have become a part of our lives, will create in consciences.

The solution is to act with common sense on this issue, to prepare an applicable law instead of steps that cause other problems in practice. It is to implement one by one the steps that are defined in the current law but have never been implemented in practice. The basic approach should be to release socially adapted and rehabilitated animals back to where they were taken from with the cooperation and support of volunteers, to follow them up, to register them, to microchip them, and to 'care for, vaccinate, sterilize, and adopt them'. It is to focus specifically on the regions where problems are experienced, and to implement practical applications that befit our culture, traditions, vitality, and humanity with infrastructure, personnel, and resources that the Ministry is also involved in.”