AKP submits long-awaited animal rights bill

Photo: AA

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The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) submitted a long-awaited bill on animal rights to the Parliamentary Speaker's Office.

Under the bill, "animals will no longer be seen as products, but as life," Mahir Ünal, the party's deputy parliamentary group chair, told reporters in parliament.

The AKP previously rejeceted bills submitted by opposition parties, which criticized it for delaying the legislation.

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Also under the bill, the sale of cats and dogs by pet shops will be banned, he said.

Ünal also said land-based and water circuses and dolphin parks will be prohibited.

"Cat and dog owners will be required to have digital IDs, and their abandonment will face sanctions," he said.

The bill will first face parliament's Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Affairs Committee.

"We hope to pass this bill before parliament's (summer) recess, keeping our promise (to the nation)," he added.

The bill is expected to be debated next week by the committee. (KÖ/VK)