Turkey approves law to remove millions of stray dogs, protests from citizens and opposition

Turkey's parliament passed a law to round up millions of stray dogs and place them in shelters, despite protests from animal lovers and criticism from the main opposition party, which vowed to challenge the legislation in court.

Turkey has about 4 million stray dogs, and supporters of the law cited concerns about attacks, road accidents and cases of rabies.

The law was approved with 275 votes in favor and 224 against. Animal rights activists have called instead for sterilization campaigns to be stepped up, while the Republican People's Party insisted it will appeal the legislation to the Constitutional Court.

The country currently has 322 animal shelters with a capacity for 105,000 dogs, far less than would be needed to round up the number of strays. The law requires all municipalities to spend at least 0.3% of their annual budget on animal rehabilitation services and the construction or improvement of shelters, although they will be given until 2028 to do so.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest the law, occasionally clashing with police and holding placards with slogans such as "You can't kill them!".