Vienna, 29 July 2024

Manuela Rowlings, who leads the Stray Animal Care projects of FOUR PAWS in Europe says: 

“We have been monitoring the situation in Türkiye closely and are deeply disappointed about the Parliament’s decision to change its Animal Protection Law, which prohibited the killing and discouraged the long-term sheltering of stray dogs so far. These inhumane changes will create a cycle of suffering and death for stray animals in the country who already live harsh lives, unless Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, refrains from ratifying it.  

FOUR PAWS strongly condemns the killing as well as the long-term mass sheltering of stray animals as means of population control not only due to the suffering this causes for the animals but also because this is an ineffective, inhumane, and costly way to reduce stray animal numbers in the long term. We have never seen such unsustainable methods succeed – Romania is a prominent example where the killing as well as extensive sheltering of stray dogs has not reduced their numbers.

It is widely agreed that the only way to humanely and sustainably control stray dog populations is by implementing a multifaceted approach to population management, with a focus on CNVR method: Catch – Neuter – Vaccinate – Return, as well as community engagement, education and behaviour change. These methods are employed by FOUR PAWS for ethically and effectively  managing stray dogs and cats humanely and sustainably in several projects in Europe and Southeast Asia. We urge the Turkish President not to ratify the law and to refrain from killing or mass sheltering innocent animals and opt for methods that have proven successful in managing stray populations.”