Turkish police scuffle with advocates rallying against bill targeting stray dogs

Reuters

Turkish police scuffled with protesters in the capital Ankara on July 26 during a demonstration against plans to round up millions of stray dogs.

The plan, presented to parliament by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) earlier this month, has alarmed animal lovers who say a mass neutering campaign would be a better solution than locking dogs up in shelters.

Police pushed back the protesters as they tried to gather in the city centre, leading to scuffles.

The demonstrators held banners reading, "You cannot round them up, you cannot jail them, you cannot kill them" and "Take back the law".

"People here are those taking care of many animals. What is this grudge? Do you want the dogs and cats on the street to be killed?" one protester said through a megaphone.

Under the draft law, municipalities would be charged with moving strays off the streets and into shelters until they are adopted. Aggressive dogs or any with untreatable diseases would be put down.

The population of street dogs in Turkey is estimated to be 4 million, and 2.5 million dogs have been neutered in the past 20 years by municipalities, according to the draft bill.

There are currently 322 animal shelters with a capacity to host a total of 105,000 dogs, the bill says.