A proposal to amend the Animal Protection Law was adopted by the General Assembly of Parliament and passed into law on 9 July 2021. According to the new amendment, animals will be evaluated not as “commodities” or “belongings” but as ”living-beings”.
The Animal Protection Act has been reformed from the very beginning. The proposal, which included drastic changes, was passed in the plenary session of Parliament.
Imprisonment for animal torture
The new amendment paves the way for prison sentences for crimes against animals. Anyone who deliberately kills a pet can be sentenced to up to 4 years in prison.
According to the bill, the sale of cats and dogs by pet shops will be banned, as such shops are “not suitable for animal health and ethology.”
Animal circuses, water circuses and dolphin parks will also be prohibited.
Cat and dog owners will be required to have digital IDs or registration and will face fines if they abandon their pets.
Under the bill, “animals will no longer be seen as products, but as living creatures,” Mahir Ünal, the party’s deputy parliamentary group chair, told reporters in parliament.