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Animal rights activists took to the streets of İzmir on Saturday to protest against the mass killings of dogs in Altındağ and Niğde, condemning what they call the “massacre law” passed by the Turkish government. The legislation, which allows the euthanasia of stray dogs, has sparked outrage across the country, with activists vowing to continue the fight until it is repealed.
In İzmir, protesters carried banners reading “Animal shelter = death camp You can’t round [animals] up, kill them or lock them up” and chanted the slogans, “AKP means massacre!” referring to the ruling Justice and Welfare Party, which pushed through the law, “Animal shelters should not be slaughterhouses!” “AKP hands off animals!” and “Government resign!” The protestors symbolised the lives lost due to the new law by carrying a small coffin draped in black cloth and marked with paw prints.
Representataives of the İzmir Animal Rights Defenders Kaan Gencel and Pınar Alpasil read a statement after the march. “In just one week since the law was passed, there have been mass killings of dogs in Niğde and in Altındağ, Ankara. The extent of the brutality prescribed by this law is slowly coming to light. The images of bound, mutilated dogs with bags over their heads, thrown into mass graves, are just the tip of the iceberg,” they said.
Gencel and Alpasil stressed that 85% of the public rejects the so-called “massacre law”, stating, “There is no legitimacy to the cruelty against street animals under the guise of the law. Not everything that is legal is legitimate. We will not allow the enforcement of this law of death and massacre. We will not take a single step back until the legislation is repealed.”
The protests come amid widespread backlash following the discovery of mass graves of dogs in Ankara’s Altındağ and in Niğde. Video footage of the graves has been widely circulated, causing further public outrage.
According to Tuğba Gürsoy, a lawyer from the Ankara Bar Association, autopsy reports confirmed that the animals had been poisoned using cheap toxic substances, such as rodent and insect poisons. Gürsoy highlighted that the poisoning was done in a particularly cruel manner, with the animals being lured with food. “The animals were killed by taking advantage of their hunger,” she said, adding that one of the dogs found in the grave was pregnant.
As a result of this, Altındağ’s Municipal Veterinary Affairs Director, who oversaw the opperation, was detained for questioning, although Ankara City Council distanced itself from the incident.
Despite significant public opposition, the controversial “massacre law” was passed by the Turkish parliament on 30 July with 275 votes in favour and 224 against. The bill was pushed through by the ruling AKP / MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) coalition. Republican People’s Party (CHP) MP Deniz Yavuzyılmaz condemned the motion, saying, “With this proposal, the AKP is essentially saying ‘street dogs will either die or be killed’. This article means death! You want to kill animals! You won’t be able to look your children in the eye!” The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, too, has refused to recognise or implement Turkey’s newly passed animal control law, criticising the government for targeting “not just Kurds, but all living beings”.
The law faced further criticism from CHP leader Özgür Özel, who called on municipal leaders not to enforce it. He announced plans to challenge the law in the Constitutional Court, stating, “Our lawyers are finalising a comprehensive 180-page petition, which we will submit this week, including a request for a stay of execution. Until then, I urge all mayors, regardless of party affiliation, not to implement the law’s provisions relating to the massacre [of dogs].”
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