Legal experts publish book on animal rights

Umut Erdem - SAMSUN

A book has been published about the role of animal rights in the law, a first in this field, under the direction of the Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Law.

The 728-page publication, edited by Prof. Dr Murat Batı, head of the university’s Financial Law Department, and Assoc. Prof. Dr Zekiye Özen İnci, included the writings of 25 academics who analyzed the issues on animal rights and protection from the perspectives of different branches of law.

The academics who contributed to the book remarked that there is an obligation to reorganize the concept of animals in law, and animals should be protected by the prohibition of any acts of violence towards them in general.

“A special norm protecting and guaranteeing animal rights should be included in the current Constitutional Law, just like in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and animal rights should be given a legal guarantee at the constitutional level,” read the chapter written by Prof. Dr. Merdan Hekimoğlu.

As for hunting, the book pointed out that hunting tourism, which is claimed to protect the habitats of wild animals, restricts the free use of natural habitats by wild animals.

The book also includes a “12-point proposal” regarding these issues, including articles such as providing compulsory and free animal care services by municipalities, imposing 10 to 15 years imprisonment and fines for animal violence and torture, and strict regulations on pet imports, taxing on pet purchases, and hunting.