Turkey’s Constitutional Court on Monday upheld a controversial law permitting the killing of stray dogs, ruling that animals are “not the subjects of rights” under the constitution, Turkish media reported.
In its majority opinion, the court argued that the rapidly growing stray dog population poses a threat to public safety and that Article 17 of the constitution obliges the government to act. It said stray dogs cannot be regarded as “a natural part of the ecosystem” and are “not the subjects of rights,” concluding that euthanizing them with “minimum possible pain” does not violate the constitution.
The ruling has attracted strong criticism from animal rights groups and legal experts, who say the decision provides constitutional cover for what they describe as a state-sanctioned culling campaign.
Turkey has one of the largest stray dog populations in Europe — estimated at 4 million according to official 2025 figures and up to 7 million according to the Veterinary Doctors Association — a crisis activists attribute to years of inconsistent municipal neutering programs and pet abandonment. While the government has increasingly framed the issue as a public-safety threat, animal rights groups argue that systemic neglect, not the dogs themselves, is to blame.
The case was brought when the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) petitioned the Constitutional Court to annul the 2024 law, which requires municipalities to round up stray dogs and put them in shelters while allowing euthanasia of aggressive or ill animals. After the law took effect reports of mass killings in several municipal shelters sparked nationwide protests and condemnation by animal welfare groups.
Several judges dissented from the decision, arguing that the numerical increase of stray animals cannot justify killing them. They said the law contradicts fundamental values such as compassion toward animals as well as Islamic legal principles that recognize animals as beings with rights, which seems to contradict the Turkish court’s verdict. The dissenting judges warned that societies need “healthy values” as much as healthy individuals and that the amendment risks enabling “cruel and inhumane practices” in shelters.
Legal experts also criticized the law. In a submission to the Constitutional Court, the Ankara Bar Association argued that the law violates international obligations, including European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law, World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) standards and UN Environment Programme principles and said hundreds of animals had already been killed as a result of the law.
The legislation, which amends a 2004 law, passed the Turkish Parliament with the support of 275 lawmakers, all from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its far-right ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). A total of 224 MPs voted against the legislation.
The amendment marked a major shift in Turkey’s animal welfare legislation. Previous laws prohibited the killing of stray animals except in rare circumstances, instead emphasizing rehabilitation and neutering. Animal rights activists continue to call for mass sterilization rather than euthanasia as the humane method to control the stray dog population, warning that the government’s current approach could lead to further abuse.
