Response from Turkish Veterinary Association to Proposed Law: “Even if law passes, we will not perform euthanasia”

The Turkish Veterinary Medical Association (TVHB) has announced that they will not implement the proposed law that includes the euthanasia of stray animals by injection, even if it is accepted.

The TVHB stated that their opinions on the Animal Protection Law had not been taken into consideration and said, “We have learned from the press that the proposal will be submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in the coming weeks.”

“Not Ethical, Humane, or Conscientious”

Veterinarians emphasized that the euthanasia and extermination of healthy animals were not ethical, humane, or conscientious from their perspective and reminded the public of universal medical values:

“As veterinarians, we will not perform euthanasia even if this law is passed. Contrary to popular belief, the proposed method is not cost-effective. According to the information we obtained from the media, the provisions of this draft, like previous amendments, are far from practical and scientific, impossible to implement, disturbing to public conscience, and could set our country back by 20 years in this field. Before the Animal Protection Law No. 5199 was enacted in 2004, stray animals were unfortunately exterminated using inhumane methods. However, after the development of social awareness and objections, Law No. 5199 was enacted, banning all forms of extermination.”

“Law No. 5199 on the Protection of Animals Was Not Implemented”

Veterinarians pointed out that except for a few local governments, no municipality complies with the Animal Protection Law, leading to the stray animal population becoming a problem. According to Law No. 5199, local governments were supposed to establish temporary shelters, treat and rehabilitate stray animals, neuter them, vaccinate them, and return them to their habitats. Veterinarians criticized politicians, stating that animal rights are only remembered during elections.

They also highlighted that despite the Animal Protection Law No. 5199, there were no inspections, budgets were not allocated, and there were no sanctions for those who did not comply with the law. Veterinarians noted that stray animals were collected in inappropriate shelter conditions, and sterilization procedures were not performed due to cost concerns. They criticized the proposal with the following statements:

“The euthanasia procedure mentioned in the proposal refers to the termination of an animal’s life through medical methods, quickly, painlessly, and without suffering. Euthanasia is a method used for medical reasons when facing death, where pain and suffering are permanent or cannot be alleviated. Euthanasia can only be performed by veterinarians and, when applied to a healthy animal, it means nothing but massacre. The euthanasia and extermination of healthy animals are neither ethical, humane, nor conscientious from the perspective of veterinarians and are not compatible with universal medical values. As veterinarians, we will not perform euthanasia even if this law is passed. The procedures to be followed before euthanasia are more costly and challenging than sterilization and cannot be considered an active method for controlling the stray animal population. Additionally, it will negatively affect our country’s image in the international community during this era of communication and the Turkish Century.”

Sanctions for Abandoning Animals

The Turkish Veterinary Medical Association proposed the following solutions to the issue:

– Establish Veterinary Public Health Departments in Metropolitan Municipalities and Veterinary Affairs Directorates in other municipalities.
– Employ qualified and sufficient personnel in the Veterinary Public Health Departments and Veterinary Affairs Directorates.
– Ensure that temporary shelters have enough veterinarians, animal health assistants, and workers to meet their capacity needs and set standards for this. Assistants working in temporary animal shelters should be trained in hygiene, animal behavior, animal welfare and care, and animal handling and capturing.
– Seek support from veterinary faculties and private veterinarians for sterilization efforts in needed areas.
– Prevent uncontrolled breeding and unregulated commercial sales of animals, ensuring that breeding is supervised and approved by the relevant ministry and veterinarians.
– Encourage the adoption of stray cats and dogs from the streets, remove difficulties related to identifying adopted animals, and ensure that animals of all ages can be identified.
– Ensure that dogs and cats that cannot adapt to the environment, are old, weak, or disabled, remain in shelters until they are adopted or throughout their lives.
– Redefine the conditions for adopting animals.
– Impose serious sanctions on pet owners who abandon their animals on the streets.
– Monitor animals in rural areas and agricultural enterprises, which are a significant source of stray animals. Encourage adoption, provide state support, and ensure that many companies and public institutions in the country adopt animals alongside individual ownership.
– Seek assistance from professional organizations, non-governmental organizations, and other volunteers for a solution, and inspect those who exploit support.

SOURCE: gazeteoksijen.com/turkiye/turk-veteriner-hekimleri-birliginden-yasa-teklifine-tepki-yasa-ciksa-da-otanazi-yapmayacagiz-212213