Animal rights law proposal to be presented to parliament in two weeks, says AKP lawmaker

ANKARA

A long-awaited law proposal about animal rights that seeks jail terms for anyone who kills, abuses or tortures animals will be presented to the Turkish Parliament within two weeks, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) lawmaker has said.

“We want to do our best to protect the rights of the animals,” AKP Deputy Chair Özlem Zengin told Demirören News Agency on Feb. 3.

A person who kills an animal will face up to four years in jail, and a person who abuses and tortures animals will be subject to three years in jail, according to Zengin, who is also a dog owner.

A person who adopts an animal will have to look after it for life long, or else in a case if a person abandons their pets, they will have to pay a fine of 500 Turkish Liras ($70), according to the proposal.

Noting that according to the new proposal, pets will not be sold in pet shops, Zengin said: “There will be special conditions to adopt an animal. Each animal will be chipped and have an ID that will show the name of its owner.”

“An owner will be allowed to keep a maximum of three dogs in his or her apartment,” she added.

“We need to start a neutering campaign in three or four years. Otherwise, if we do not do that, the population of dogs in the country will reach 60 million in ten years,” Zengin said.