The Turkish parliament on Monday approved parts of a bill including its most controversial article, which is criticized for paving the way for the mass killing of some of the country’s 4 million stray dogs, Agence France-Presse reported.
The bill attracted widespread criticism and sparked protests as its first version would have allowed local municipalities to euthanize all dogs that pose a “threat to public safety.” It had to be revised after the broad meaning of the phrase prompted accusations from animal rights activists and opposition politicians that local municipalities could seek a shortcut by opting for the mass killing of dogs in their jurisdictions.
The revised version of the bill does not make a direct reference to “euthanasia” as the word was taken out of the text due to public outrage, although there is an indirect reference to it through the Law on Veterinary Services, which actually bans euthanasia in general but sets strict conditions for the practice to be implemented in certain cases.
Lawmakers began debating the 17-article bill on Sunday, when deputies opposed to the measure protested by putting on white gloves stained with fake blood.
The first five articles of the bill had been approved as of Monday. The remainder of the bill is expected to be adopted in the next few days before parliament goes to summer recess on August 1.
The fifth article of the bill adopted on Monday says dogs will be put down if they “present a danger to the life or health of people and animals, display uncontrollable negative behavior, have a contagious or incurable disease or whose adoption is forbidden.”
The bill says homeless dogs should be captured en masse, placed in animal shelters and put up for adoption.
Critics say relying on animal shelters and adoption is ultimately unworkable because of the numbers involved.
Animal rights campaigners, who fear the bill is a cover for a huge cull despite government denials, instead advocate for a mass sterilization campaign.
The emotional debate has revived memories of a 1910 tragedy when the Ottoman authorities rounded up around 60,000 stray dogs in Istanbul and sent them to a deserted rock in the Sea of Marmara.
With nothing to eat, the dogs tore each other to pieces.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said ahead of the debate that Turkey faced a problem “like no other civilized country” and which was “growing exponentially.”
The president, whose conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its allies hold an absolute majority in parliament, said on Wednesday people wanted “safe streets.”
The opposition Republican People’s Party, which controls İstanbul and other major cities, has said its mayors will not implement the law if it is passed.
Demonstrations have taken place in recent weeks, including inside parliament.
The government has said mayors who refuse to carry out the law could be jailed.
It has banned visitors’ access to parliament to avoid further protests.