Turkish lawmaker says animal abusers should get ‘another chance’

ANKARA

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During a parliamentary discussion on a new draft item seeking to forbid people convicted of sexual abuse of animals from owning animals, a deputy from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has said animal abusers should be given “another chance.”

Selçuk Özdağ, an AKP deputy from the western province of Manisa, said he did not approve barring people sentenced to jail terms of up to four years for animal rape from owning animals, daily Cumhuriyet reported on April 10, depending on the minutes of the meeting. 

“We are taking [this offense] from a misdemeanor and putting it under Turkish criminal law. This really is a revolution, a reform, but on the other hand, I don’t find it right to bar people who are sentenced to jail terms ranging from six months to four years [for sexual abuse of animals] from owning animals without giving them another chance because a chance needs to be given to people,” he said. 

“They may make a mistake, a wrongdoing; this is the case for these people too. In Turkey, don’t we give another chance to… those who make mistakes or whose mistakes were displayed by the law? We do. Therefore, I find this [the draft amendment] a very heavy penalty and I don’t agree with it,” Özdağ said.