A new law that threatens to cull millions of street dogs in Turkey has sparked nationwide anger. While President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists the strays are a public health risk, critics say the move is an attempt to distract from bigger problems.
Under controversial legislation currently passing through parliament, local authorities would be responsible for rounding up stray dogs, which would be killed after 30 days if an owner can not be found for them.
Opponents claim as many as eight million street dogs could be at risk.
"They are planning to round them up into shelters, which we call death camps," said Zulal Kalkandelen, one of the animals rights activists taking part in a recent protest against the plan in Istanbul.
"For some time, there has been a campaign to fuel stray animal hatred," she declared.
"Our people, who have been living with street dogs for many years, in fact for centuries, are now being brought to the point where all these animals will be erased."
Street dogs have been a part of Istanbul life for centuries. The proposed legislation evokes memories of a dark chapter in the city's past when, in 1910, street dogs were rounded up and left on a nearby island to starve.
It has provoked emotive arguments in parliament, with MPs jostling one another and exchanging insults – opening another deep divide in an already fractured political landscape.
But President Erdogan insists something must be done to control stray animals that, he argues, have become a menace to society, causing traffic accidents and spreading disease.
Humane alternatives
Addressing parliament, Erdogan claimed he was answering the call of the "silent majority".
"The truth is that a very large part of society wants this issue to be resolved as soon as possible and our streets to become safe for everyone, especially our children," he declared.
"It is unthinkable for us to remain indifferent to this demand, this call, even this cry. Our proposals are no different from those of other countries in Europe."
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Lawyer Elcin Cemre Sencan, who has helped organise protests against the proposed legislation, argues there are more humane ways to address people's concerns.
"There is a group of people who are disturbed by these stray animals or who are afraid even to touch them," she acknowledges. "But even if there are these concerns, the solution is not to put the dogs to sleep.
"Scientific studies have shown that sterilising animals, especially dogs, reduces not only their numbers but also attacks on people."
Veterinary organisations have also pointed out that the cost of euthanising a dog is many times higher than sterilisation and vaccination.
Diversion tactic?
Some critics suggest politics could be behind the move.
With Erdogan's conservative AK Party suffering heavy defeats in local elections this spring and Turkey grappling with near 100 percent inflation, opponents claim the Turkish president could be calculating that objections to his street dog legislation comes mainly from the secular opposition and hoping the issue will consolidate his religious base.
"We know our problems in this country; the world knows our problems. There is an economic crisis, and we have human rights problems everywhere. But they want to change the main topics to these animals," said Eyup Cicerali, a professor at Istanbul's Nisantasi University, at a recent protest against the legislation.
"They want to kill them all," he claimed. "We are here to protect our values, values of respect and dignity for human and animal rights. Life is an issue for all groups."
According to one recent opinion poll, less than 3 percent of the Turkish public support the culling of street dogs.
Some of Erdogan's MPs have even started speaking out against the law in the media, albeit anonymously. "This law makes us dog killers," one unnamed deputy was quoted as saying.
Despite such misgivings, the legislation is expected to pass parliament later this month.
But with the protests drawing together secular and religious animal lovers, and opposition-controlled local authorities declaring they won't impose the law, the stray dog legislation could prove a risky move for Erdogan.
