PM Erdoğan promises harsher punishment for animal cruelty

22 February 2011, Tuesday

A number of animal-loving public figures met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday and appealed for stricter laws against animal cruelty at Dolmabahçe Palace, where the prime minister's İstanbul office is located.

The delegation included singers Yonca Evcimik, Ajda Pekkan and Burcu Güneş, musician Metin Özülkü, actor Tuna Arman, movie critic Ömür Gedik and Animal Rights Federation (HAYTAP) President Ahmet Kemal Şenpolat. The group appealed to the prime minister to change the penalties for animal cruelty, which currently consist of paying a negligible fine for torturing an animal as these crimes are considered misdemeanors.

Animal activists want animal cruelty to be classified as major offenses under the Turkish Penal Code (TCK). Prime Minister Erdoğan, according to the delegation, said he became an animal lover himself after his son got a dog and promised to change the existing legislation after the June 2011 election.

He thanked the delegation for the informative meeting, which lasted about one-and-a-half hours.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, HAYTAP President Şenpolat said their appeal was probably the most innocent demand the government has ever seen. He said the prime minister showed a high level of sensitivity toward the issue. “For the most part, it won’t be possible to change this law before the election, but we have been promised that it will be changed for sure after the election. After this change, people who commit animal cruelty or mistreat animals will be tried in court.”

HAYTAP also presented a detailed report to the prime minister on dealing with Turkey’s stray animal problem, calling for sanctions against pet owners who abandon their pets or refuse to neuter them and allow them to breed and also called for stricter rules for pet shop owners and limitations on importing animals.

Dancer and singer Evcimik said after the meeting: “I have seen today here that I really didn’t know our prime minister before, because I found out that he is a serious animal lover who lives close to cats and dogs. I feel that he will be helpful in this matter; I saw compassion in his eyes.”

Singer Pekkan also said the meeting had been very positive.

“Prime Minister Erdoğan promised us change in this regard. We also saw that he is very sensitive about animal rights,” Özülkü said.

Güneş said she was thankful for the meeting. “I saw that he really is an animal lover. Our prime minister’s son has a dog, and he also loves the dog. He really likes animals. We want these to be reflected through the rest of society. The prime minister gave us examples from the Prophet Muhammad and Mevlana [Jelaluddin Rumi] regarding compassion and the love for animals.”

Thespian Arman said, “Prime Minister Erdoğan said he will take steps to punish those who perpetrate violence against animals.”

In general, Turkey’s animal rights laws are better than in most countries. The Turkish Animal Protection Act No. 5199 specifies that municipalities should neuter and return all stray animals to where they were taken from, in line with World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations to bring down populations. Many countries have failed to pass such legislation and instead rely on euthanasia to deal with the problem of unwanted animal populations. However, Act 5199 falls under the category of misdemeanors, which are considered “lesser” criminal acts in Turkish law. Because of this, in most cases, an individual who tortures an animal doesn’t go to trial. In some cases where the animal has an owner, the offender can be tried for damaging “property,” but most animal cruelty cases go unpunished. Animal activists have been calling for moving Act 5199 under the scope of the Turkish Penal Code, saying this is the only effective way to prevent animal abuse.

Source: Today's Zaman.
Link: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-236296-pm-erdogan-promises-harsher-punishment-for-animal-cruelty.html.