Veterinarians have become the sole voice for street animals.

The Turkish Veterinary Medical Association made a statement to remind local authorities of their responsibilities regarding stray animals and to address attacks on veterinarians after the incidents that occurred in animal shelters in Gebze, Umraniye, and Kırklareli.

Osman Alpdoğan, the President of the Ağrı Chamber of Veterinary Medicine, who supported the press release held simultaneously in 81 provinces from Ağrı, emphasized that local authorities should be sensitive to stray animal issues.

The statement included the following statements: “Recently, the incidents at animal shelters in Gebze, Umraniye, and Kırklareli have brought the discussions about the protection and welfare of stray animals back to the agenda. As the Turkish Veterinary Medical Association (TVHB) and affiliated Chambers, there has been a need for a press statement to remind local authorities of their vital responsibilities regarding stray animals and to share our views on the attacks against our profession and colleagues with the public.

According to the general justification of Law No. 7527, it is reported that there are approximately 4 million stray animals in our country, and the same justification states that there are 322 temporary shelters with a capacity of 105,000. The cancellation of the “catch-neuter-vaccinate-release” practice in Law No. 5199 and the acceptance of Law No. 7527, which includes the rule “catch-neuter-keep,” already pointed to the problems that would occur today and raised the question of what would happen to animals after the shelter capacity was full. Although we repeatedly raised this reality during the law-making process as TVHB, unfortunately, it was not taken into account, and the negative consequences we are facing today have started to occur. After these events, unfortunately, as always, the main causes of the problem have not been examined, and in a simplistic manner, all veterinarians and the veterinary profession have been targeted as if the mayors and administrators were unaware, and actions akin to extrajudicial executions have begun without waiting for the evaluation processes to be completed.

As we have stated before, euthanasia can only be performed by veterinarians on animals that have suffered irreversible damage to their vital functions and cannot survive medically. The slaughter of healthy animals is an ethically, humanely, and morally unacceptable situation for veterinarians and is absolutely incompatible with universal medical values. We know that veterinarians perform their duties with this awareness. We strongly reject and condemn the attacks and accusations made against a profession that has received medical training and provides animal welfare and health services while selflessly working under the mobbing and violence of administrators and so-called animal lovers in environments that are inadequately equipped, lacking infrastructure and auxiliary personnel, effectively turned into places of exile. This approach is essentially an obstacle to services aimed at animal health and welfare. If these attacks continue, the number of our colleagues working in local governments will decrease, and there will be no municipal veterinarians available to treat stray animals.

The state is obliged to protect all animals, including stray animals, which are an integral part of the environment, just as it protects people and the environment. In this context, it is of great importance to effectively and deterrently punish crimes committed against animals and to prevent violence against them. It should be effectively communicated to society that the amendments made to the Animal Protection Law No. 5199 do not grant anyone the authority to torture, mistreat, or kill animals, and that prison sentences have been introduced for those who engage in such actions.

We want to warn the relevant parties about an important consequence brought by the new law that may be encountered in the future. Due to the provision preventing the release of collected animals back to the street, municipalities experiencing capacity issues are no longer collecting animals for neutering. This situation will lead to the inability to control the population and cause us to face even greater problems in the future. At this point, local governments need to accelerate their neutering programs and increase cooperation with veterinarians. It is essential to take the necessary steps to ensure the implementation of the Animal Protection Law, which came into effect twenty years ago but has not been applied as needed, throughout the country. Without delay, efforts should be initiated to ensure public safety while protecting animal health and welfare, including catching, neutering, vaccinating, and keeping them in place, while preventing production, smuggling, and sales. With the regulation to be enacted, the release of neutered animals back to where they were taken until the end of 2028 should be facilitated.

Municipalities should increase their existing shelter capacities and prioritize rehabilitation and neutering efforts. Considering the ongoing austerity measures, it is inevitable for the state to provide financial support to local governments for these activities. Under current conditions, collecting 4 million animals into shelters with a capacity of 105,000 means facing death for these animals. An effective population control mechanism should be established by utilizing the field experiences of veterinarians, and the issue of stray animals should be addressed not by collecting animals but through holistic and sustainable solutions. As TVHB, we demand that local governments fulfill their legal responsibilities. The solution to the problem is only possible through the effective implementation of laws, adequate shelter capacity, and sustainable neutering programs.

Veterinarians graduate by taking an oath as sensitive individuals who care about humans, animals, and the nature they live in, striving for social welfare, and possessing professional ethics. The Turkish Veterinary Medical Association is a constitutional organization that not only has the duty to protect the rights and authorities of its colleagues but also evaluates its members who do not comply with the requirements of the profession through its own internal disciplinary processes, just like other professions that have a professional law. We will continue to stand by our veterinarians who advocate ethical values and good veterinary practices in light of science, protecting public health, animal health, and welfare.

We once again warn all parties:

It is merely an easy way to place all the responsibility of an incomplete, unimplemented, and unmonitored law on veterinarians providing health services, to insult and target our profession with different definitions in the public eye. If these behaviors continue, we announce that we will take actions that may lead to a strike; we also want to express that we will urgently resort to legal avenues regarding the insults and attacks directed at our colleagues and our profession, both on social media and in their working areas.

The events that have occurred have clearly demonstrated that the law needs to be reassessed from a scientific and moral standpoint.