Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç announced Tuesday that judicial and administrative investigations have been launched into officials in three provinces following recent stray dog attacks that left two children dead and another injured.
Authorities in Hakkari, Konya and Erzurum are being investigated for potential negligence in handling stray dogs and properly operating animal shelters, Tunç said in a statement on X.
The most recent attack occurred Monday in Erzurum, where 10-year-old Murat Tutar was mauled by stray dogs while on his way to buy bread. He remains in intensive care at a local hospital.
In Konya, 2-year-old Rana El Selci died Friday after being attacked by a pack of stray dogs, while 12-year-old Eslem Teker lost her life in a similar attack in Hakkari in January.
“Municipalities and provincial administrations are responsible for controlling stray animals and operating shelters effectively under the Animal Protection Law. It is crucial that authorities carry out their duties,” Tunç said, adding that the government will not tolerate negligence that endangers public safety.
The attacks have reignited debate over Turkey’s estimated 4 million stray dogs, an issue that has remained controversial since the passage of a law last summer aimed at addressing the problem.
The legislation — dubbed the “massacre law” by animal welfare groups — requires municipalities to round up stray dogs, put them in shelters and euthanize aggressive or ill animals. The law also mandates shelter improvements by 2028 and threatens mayors with prison for noncompliance. However, enforcement has been inconsistent.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday that the government is taking “determined steps” to enforce the law, while Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya vowed Sunday to fully implement it.
“Either they will do this job, or I will use every authority granted to me by law,” Yerlikaya said in a video message.
Critics argue that the law will lead to mass deaths of stray dogs due to overcrowded shelters and claim that even healthy animals could be euthanized under the pretext of aggression or illness. Animal rights activists, who have been protesting the law, are calling for the law’s repeal and advocating for a mass sterilization campaign as an alternative solution.