Turkey’s Constitutional Court has rejected a petition seeking the annulment of a controversial law that critics say endangers the lives of stray dogs across the country, the Anka news agency reported.
The court reviewed a request submitted by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) to strike down 16 of the 17 articles of Law No. 7527, a recent amendment to the country’s Animal Protection Law that took effect last August despite opposition from animal rights activists and the opposition.
The top court’s decision was made by a majority of votes for some articles of the law and unanimously for others at its general assembly on Wednesday.
The petition also called for the law’s suspension until the issuance of a final verdict. The court dismissed both requests. The official reasoning behind the decision has yet to be published.
The law, pushed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its nationalist ally, the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), mandates that municipalities capture stray dogs and put them in shelters. Dogs deemed dangerous, terminally ill or unfit for adoption may be euthanized in line with provisions of Turkey’s Veterinary Services Law.
While the bill initially included explicit language permitting euthanasia, that term was later removed from the text following a public backlash. Still, animal rights advocates argue that the law opens the door to mass killings and violates international standards on animal welfare.
Legal and public backlash
The Ankara Bar Association had submitted an advisory opinion to the Constitutional Court, arguing that the law contravenes rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), World Organization for Animal Health standards, United Nations environmental principles and other international agreements. The association claimed that hundreds of animals had already died as a result of the law, citing field reports and public complaints.
In its legal challenge, the CHP argued that the law undermines animal rights, public interest and the fundamental right to life. The party announced its intention to resist implementing the law in municipalities under its control, including İstanbul and Ankara.
Protests and public outcry
Since the law’s passage, widespread protests have erupted across Turkey. Animal rights activists, civil society groups and some opposition lawmakers gathered in front of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday, demanding the law’s repeal. Demonstrators referred to it as a “massacre law” and warned of irreversible consequences.
CHP lawmaker Nimet Özdemir said on X that she would be “on watch” in front of the Constitutional Court on Wednesday. “Standing together to defend the right to life of the innocent and to be the voice of the voiceless is a moral duty,” she wrote.
Bugün ben de canlarımızı savunmak için AYM de nöbette olacağım. Hep birlikte, yan yana, masum olanın
yaşam hakkını savunmak ve sessizlerin sesi olmak vicdani bir görevdir
Nöbete gelen tüm yol arkadaşlarımın yüreğinden öpüyorum
#SokakHayvanlarıSahipsizDeğil pic.twitter.com/DYwAPDvATo
— Nimet Özdemir (@nimetozdemir34) May 7, 2025
Earlier debates in parliament saw opposition lawmakers wearing white gloves smeared with red paint to symbolize blood. They warned that the law could lead to a repeat of a tragedy in 1910, when some 60,000 stray dogs were exiled to a deserted island by Ottoman authorities and died of starvation.
Government stance
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has defended the law, citing public safety and claiming that Turkey faces a unique stray animal crisis. “People want safe streets,” he said. The government has warned that local officials who refuse to implement the law could face legal action, even jail time.
Despite revisions to soften its language, critics say the law fails to address the root causes of the stray dog population, such as inadequate sterilization programs and poor shelter conditions. Many warn that adoption alone cannot handle the scale of the problem, given that Turkey is estimated to have nearly 4 million stray dogs.