Erin Van Voorhies

Urge Türkiye to manage dogs humanely

Last month the president of Türkiye approved requiring municipalities to remove the country’s estimated 4 million stray dogs from the streets and put them into shelters. Unfortunately, Türkiye lacks adequate shelter space to accommodate large numbers of dogs, with most municipalities having no shelters at all. This means that countless dogs, if not adopted, will die in shelters. A previous law supported a humane approach to managing street dog populations involving spay/neuter and return of dogs to their communities.

The system adopted under the new law will undoubtably involve mass euthanasia and deaths of large numbers of dogs. There are already reports of dog roundups around the country.

Sheltering, mass euthanasia and culling of stray dog populations are neither effective nor humane. A far more effective approach, and the one that HSI employs throughout the world, involves the humane capture, spay/neuter, vaccination, and return of dogs to their home communities.

We encourage the president and Türkiye’s parliament to reconsider the new law, and to instead embrace established management approaches that are humane and efficient in achieving reductions in street dog populations over time. We have offered to provide evidence and expert advice concerning better approaches for managing street dog populations to decision-makers, approaches we know will benefit both the people and animals of Türkiye.

Add your name in support of our message to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Türkiye asking for humane treatment of street dogs and effective solutions to the management of their populations.

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Dear President Erdoğan and Members of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye, 

Advancing the welfare of animals in more than 50 countries, Humane Society International works around the globe to promote the human-animal bond, rescue and protect dogs and cats, and confront cruelty in all its forms. For more than 25 years, HSI has been developing and operating effective programmes that humanely manage dog populations throughout the world.    

Managing community dog populations is a complex issue that concerns many municipal leaders and agencies mandated to serve and protect the public. The government of Türkiye was celebrated for its institution of a progressive catch-neuter-return programme as stipulated in the Animal Protection Law No. 5199 to manage street animal populations. However, I am dismayed at the recent passage of a bill to catch stray dogs and cats, put them in shelters and, if they are not adopted after a short period of time, euthanize them. This will undoubtably involve the mass killing of large numbers of animals, which is neither humane nor effective.  

Removing animals either by relocation or lethal means is ineffective in reducing dog and cat population numbers long-term, and in controlling zoonotic diseases and reducing the number of people bitten by dogs. The World Health Organization explains that “There is no evidence that removal of dogs alone has ever had significant impact on dog population densities or the spread of rabies.” There are many successful examples of humane dog population management from countries around the world who have faced similar issues, such as Türkiye. A well-managed catch-neuter-vaccinate-return programme allows for a natural reduction in animal population numbers over time, reducing costs for the municipality, satisfying public health and safety concerns, and diminishing the number of nuisance complaints. 

I support HSI in asking President Erdoğan and the country of Türkiye to adopt more effective, humane solutions to dog population management.

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