ANKARA – After the Constitutional Court (AYM) decided not to annul the law that paves the way for the killing of street animals, animal rights defenders gathered on Sakarya Street to express their opposition, declaring, “We will never submit to this regulation.”
Following the Constitutional Court’s rejection of the petition to annul Law No. 7527, which legally facilitates the collection, confinement, and killing of street animals, a large number of animal rights advocates gathered on Sakarya Street in the Çankaya district of Ankara for a press statement. The demonstrators frequently chanted slogans such as “The youth will hold the killers accountable,” “One day the tables will turn, AKP will answer to the people,” “Animal life, freedom,” and “Silence is not an option, shout no to the massacre.”
‘THIS DECISION IS A DOCUMENT OF SHAME’
Tuğba Gürsoy, representing the animal rights defenders, made a statement, condemning the Constitutional Court for disregarding the lives of millions of living beings by not annulling the so-called “massacre law.” Tuğba Gürsoy stated, “This decision is a document of shame, dismissing the right to life of animals and deeply hurting our conscience! Those who defend this law should know that animals are not objects! They are living beings who feel, suffer, rejoice, and fear! This decision legitimizes the collection of animals from the streets, their forced confinement in shelters, and their killing under the guise of ‘euthanasia,’ opening the door to a systematic massacre. We do not accept this decision.”
‘DEFENDING THE RIGHT TO LIFE IS NOT A CRIME’
Tuğba Gürsoy stressed that the police attempted to block the demonstrators by setting up barricades, preventing them from exercising their democratic rights. She said, “This repressive stance is not only an attack on freedom of expression but also on the struggle to defend the right to life! We will never submit to this regulation! We will resist the mentality that abandons our friends on the streets to death! Defending the right to life of animals is not a crime; what is criminal is disregarding their lives!”
DEMANDS
Tuğba Gürsoy emphasized the clarity of the animal rights defenders’ demands and listed them as follows:
“*The so-called ‘massacre law’ must be immediately amended! The law should be restructured in a way that protects the right to life of animals.
*Repressive and obstructive practices against all life defenders must come to an end.
*A new law based on scientific and ethical principles, ensuring the right to life of animals, must be prepared.”