The petitions
On this page, you will find two petitions - please sign them without fail!
1) Sign the Occupy for Animals-petition, started February 25, 2014, to the Council of Europe, with copy to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr Recep Tayip Erdogan,
By signing our petition directly at change.org by clicking on the big button, the following message will be sent instantly to the Council of Europe and Turkey's Prime Minister, the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, and the Environmental Commission,
To: the Council of Europe,
Copy to: The Prime Minister of Turkey, the Ministry of Foresty and Water Affairs and the Environmental Commission
Dear Council of Europe,
Turkey being a signatory of the European Council's Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals since 2004, we would like to inform you that there is every reason to believe that Turkey plans to kill all stray animals.
In a draft document, prepared in secret and that was presented for approval mid September 2012 the Turkish Government intends to abolish the current program of TNR (Trap, Neuter and Return) and it proposes that municipalities round up ALL free roaming animals (dogs and perhaps even cats) and place them in what they are calling 'Dogal hayat parklari' (natural life parks).
Bearing in mind the pathetic inability of the Turkish government to run proper a sheltering network and rehabilitation facilities, there is every single reason to believe that those so-called “Natural Parks” will be nothing but death camps of the worst kind.
These parks will just be fenced off areas, probably forests, far from populated areas where hundreds or even thousands of animals will have to fend for themselves as they will be left there to die slow and agonizing deaths without food, and water. Many will die of starvation, others will fight to the death over whatever they can find. They will end up eating each other. Many will probably suffer terrible injuries from fights over limited food sources and disease will spread through the population like wildfire.
Another crucially important change in the law is the introduction of Breed Specific Legislation. Owners of dogs whose breed is considered dangerous will be forced to surrender their animals to either be killed or incarcerated for life in those “Natural Life Parks”. These animals, too will be sentenced to death if this diabolic law passes.
Following heavy protests by Turkish citizens held simultaneously in 13 cities in Turkey with tens of thousands of people on the streets, supported by people from all around the world, tens of thousands of signatures collected via petitions and letters sent to the Turkish government, the authorities had put their evil plan on halt. Until now... February 2014.
Another regulation that was announced on February 15, 2014 and which gives reason for concerns, would make it easier to experiment on animals. An excerpt from this regulation includes the following clause:
c) Domestic pets such as cats and dogs that live as strays cannot be used in experiments. Nevertheless, those stray animals can be used in experiments if there is an emerging need for studies on animal health and welfare, if those strays pose a serious threat to environmental safety or human and animal health, or if there is scientific evidence in hand supporting the fact that such a study can only be conducted using stray animals.
The draft also doesn’t introduce any restrictions on dog breeding and sales, which is the source of the problem. Rather, it is centered on this highly profitable business of breeding, selling and then “destroying” the “surplus product.” Municipalities also have budgets for spay and neuter programs, but most of the money is transferred to other areas. Which brings us to the heart of the problem...
During the last years, civil society groups have increasingly been voicing their suspicions that corruption in shelters is the main cause for the reluctance of municipalities to control the population of stray animals on Turkey's streets, given the large amounts of funding they receive. Most municipalities base shelter funding on the number of dogs neutered. Killing dogs once they have been neutered instead of returning them to their streets where they will keep away other dogs means more dogs, which in turn means more operations and more funding coming in over the long run. The pet industry is a big industry: every birth and death, every neutering tender at every municipality, every operation and every food purchase is money that goes into somebody’s pockets, whether that be a private or municipal veterinarian, a dog breeder or a medicine or veterinary supplies company that works with the municipalities.
According to an article published in the Turkish press 'Today's Zaman' on July 29, 2012, animal rights activists say the government is actively supporting -- and perhaps is and wants to become a participant -- in this lucrative cycle of death and suffering. A source who requested to remain unnamed claims that the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality is planning to open a dog food factory, adding that this is happening at a time when the government is introducing new regulations to allow the use of animal carcasses that are normally not meant for human consumption. If true, this means that the municipality plans to use slaughtered dogs in the dog food business, which might be a reason for officials to continue the cycle of breeding and destroying.
Those amendments, if passed, will bring genocide to Turkey in a scale never seen before and we are afraid that the reaction of the population in Turkey will be without any precedent, too. Protests are already planned in Istanbul on 2nd of March, 2014 and we know that animals rights organisations and citizens are determined and are organizing themselves to fight for the lives of these innocent animals. The international community also will react very harshly and if this law passes, Turkey can thus expect boycott of tourism and commerce, advertising against their country, demonstrations in front of their embassies, travel agencies, on the internet and various media.
It is our ardent plea that the Council of Europe sends a strong message to Turkey to remind them of their obligations in terms of animal welfare as a signatory of the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals, and that the Council of Europe tries to bring the Turkish Government to reason and to give up their evil plans.
We thank you very much, in advance, for having taken the time to read our letter and for intervening in this matter so that this criminal law will not be passed, thus circumventing a tragedy of epic proportions for both humans and non-human animals in Turkey.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
Thank you!
2) Sign another petition started February 25, 201 by Occupy for Animals addressed to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr Recep Tayip Erdogan, with copy the Council of Europe
Dear Prime Minister,
As you are aware, the proposed amendments to your country's Animal Protection Law No. 5199 had caused a wave of global outrage among animal lovers and animal welfare organizations worldwide already in 2012.
Even IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), in their article published September 26, 2012 regarding your plans, stated that "any legislation which would result in the lifetime confinement of dogs in shelters or restricted spaces in which their basic needs can never be met is not only bad policy, it is inherently cruel. Without appropriate care and supervision, sheltering facilities and dog confinement operations often become hotbeds of stress and disease. And when these facilities are meant to house dogs for the rest of their lives, those lives may often be brief and miserable as a result of untreated illnesses and chronic psychological distress."
After tens of thousands of Turkish citizens took the streets during simultaneous protests in 13 major cities, your government had halted its plans... but only to bring them back to the table again now, February, 2014.
In 2004, by ratifying the European Council's Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals and introducing its Animal Protection Law No. 5199, Turkey signaled to Europe, and the world, that it takes its responsibility towards both owned and not- owned companion animals seriously, and that Turkish citizens are people who care about animal welfare.
Law No. 5199 obliged municipalities to neuter and return stray animals to their territories, and clearly forbade the release of animals outside of the city.
In implementation, however, the rate of neutering was very slow and inefficient, and most of the neutered animals were returned not to their territories, but dumped outside of the city in forests and along highways. Even the reports issued by Eurogroup for Animals have shown that the dog population management approach outlined in Law No. 5199 was neither adequately implemented, nor enforced. Policy awareness and compliance, as well as implementation of humane dog control and catching methods were substandard and below OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) guidelines, as stated in the Eurogroup for Animals Report.
In itself, Law No. 5199 is a very comprehensive and good animal protection law, and although the only problem is that the law is not being properly implemented, we understand that your government has felt the need to make changes to your country's Animal Protection Law.
Of these, the planned changes to introduce stricter punishment of animal abusers and to outlaw bestiality are highly commendable.
But – with all due respect, dear Prime Minister – we must submit that, regarding all other amendments, you are clearly going backwards in terms of animal welfare and we urge you to please drop the proposed 2012 amendment and begin looking at legislation that supports a comprehensive, humane and more importantly, effective and sustainable approach in terms of stray animal population control.
The International Companion Animal Management Coalition (ICAM) has not only published guidance on the humane management of dog populations, they have a version that has been translated into Turkish which will guide and help you to implement an effective and sustainable approach that is proven to be effective. This document can be downloaded at the following link: http://www.icam-coalition.org/downloads/Humane_Dog_Population_Management_Guidance_Turkish.pdf
We hope that this information will help you in making an informed decision that is at once humane and effective, in terms of stray animal population control.
The current plan to send these animals to unsupervised, unsheltered ‘parks’ outside city limits and effectively leave them to perish, without providing for their care, feeding, watering… is nothing short of outright cruelty.
Reason for further concern is another regulation that was announced on February 15, 2014 and which would make it easier to experiment on animals. An excerpt from this regulation includes the following clause:
c) Domestic pets such as cats and dogs that live as strays cannot be used in experiments. Nevertheless, those stray animals can be used in experiments if there is an emerging need for studies on animal health and welfare, if those strays pose a serious threat to environmental safety or human and animal health, or if there is scientific evidence in hand supporting the fact that such a study can only be conducted using stray animals.
But the most significant trend in modern research in recent years has been the recognition that animals are rarely good models for the human body, and while the world’s most forward-thinking scientists have moved on to develop and use methods for studying diseases and testing products that replace animals and are actually relevant to human health, the regulation that your government has announced on February 15, 2014, is not only unacceptable, but it is simply bad science.
Modern methods include sophisticated tests using human cells and tissues (also known as in vitro methods), advanced computer-modeling techniques (often referred to as in silico models), and studies with human volunteers. These and other non-animal methods are not hindered by species differences that make applying animal test results to humans difficult or impossible, and they usually take less time and money to complete.
We request you, as the person with the maximum authority in this instance, to make the humane choice. The lives of many, many animals are in your hands. As are the hopes of many, many animal lovers, animal rights activists and animal rights/welfare organizations in countries far from your own.
If they can speak up for the welfare and humane treatment of the stray animals of Turkey, Mr. Prime Minister, we are sure that you will, too.
Thank you.
[Your name]
In addition to signing these two petitions, we would also be very grateful if you would take a moment to send a personal message to the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs (eroglu@ormansu.gov.tr), and to the Environmental Commission (cevrekom@tbmm.gov.tr) expressing why the new amendment and the experiment regulation should be cancelled.