92% of Stray Animals Impounded in Second Year of 'Massacre Law'

Ninety-two percent of stray animals collected have been sent to shelters: On the second anniversary of a regulation that came into force in 2023 and has been characterized as the 'Massacre Law' by opposition parties and animal rights advocates, Cumhuriyet reported striking data. Since the law came into effect, 92% of stray animals captured across Turkey have been sent to municipal shelters.

Animal welfare advocates gathered in Kadıköy to protest the figures. Animal rights organizations argue that shelter capacity cannot bear this burden and that the majority of animals are being held in inadequate conditions.

Before the law was enacted, many municipalities — most notably the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality — implemented a trap-neuter-vaccinate-release model; the effective termination of this model has remained a focal point of debate. Although the figure has been reported as 92%, which institution compiled the data and for which period was not clarified in the wire report; the Cumhuriyet article was cited as the primary source.