Turkey's Struggling Experience with Animal Welfare Law

Trying to bring a solution to the demands of the opposition's and civic organizations' criticism and as a result of the public pressure on this issue, a new animal-rights law bill was finally passed in 2021 in Turkey. The long-awaited bill has transformed non-human animals' legal status from commodities to living beings. Aside from its moral substance, it is significant as it sets the door for tougher sanctions envisaged by the Turkish Criminal Code, as harm done to a living individual carries harsher legal implications than the harm done to a commodity.

When we consider that the main law for animal welfare, which was established in 2004 and has not been amended since the new extra legislation draft takes on even greater importance. The 2004 Law was also insufficient since it did not provide legal protection for any species of a non-human animal, instead, it only stated that all animals are equal. It is also quite unusual in that it does not include a definition for "animal" or "recognition of sentience", whereas it legally recognizes physical and psychological suffering in non-human animals. Yaşar and Yerlikaya in their article published in 2004 also acknowledge that the 2004 Law did not completely satisfy the animal rights advocates, despite taking a wholly positive perspective on the law at the time. This situation has also been the fundamental basis for the pressure from political actors, intellectuals, and civil society for a new animal welfare law.

Aksulu acknowledges that the three non-governmental organizations Animal Rights Federation (HAYTAP), The Nature and Animal Protection Association (DOHAYKO), and Respect About Life (YHS) played an important role in the establishment of the new animal welfare bill in her thesis for exploring the role of social media and the assembling of the animal rights civic organizations. However, we should highlight that the new bill is not comprehensive and still does not provide a long-term solution. The problem of dolphin parks, which are a popular concept on the country's coasts, and zoos that are designated as "natural living habitats" under Turkish law, has yet to be settled.

The new legislation merely restricted the establishment of new zoos and dolphin parks. Fur farming remains still legal and unregulated. Notwithstanding the fact that the new bill addressed all of the legal recommendations made by the API in its 2020 report (which focused on more elaborative legislation for animals, their legal status, and protection), there is still room for improvement in animal welfare in the country where the largest city, Istanbul, hosts more than 200,000 street cats and dogs.

Bibliography

Yaşar, A., & Yerlikaya, H. (2004). Dünya'da ve Türkiye'de hayvan haklarının tarihsel gelişimi. Veteriner Bilimleri Dergisi. Eurasian Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 20(4), p. 44.

Aksulu, M. (2013). Yeni toplumsal hareketler: Türkiye'de hayvan hakları savunuculuğu ve sosyal medya (Master's thesis, Maltepe Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü).