Lawyer's Voice Initiative brings animal rights violations to international jurisdiction

The Lawyer's Voice Initiative is preparing to bring allegations of violations against animals in Turkey and practices against animal rights defenders to the agenda of international judicial authorities.

The initiative will give information about the application process by making a press statement in front of Çağlayan Courthouse on October 2.

The Lawyer's Voice Initiative, which operates in the field of animal rights, took action to bring animal practices in Turkey to the international level.

Providing information about the process on behalf of the initiative, lawyer Nur Meşe stated that the international application will cover various allegations of animal rights violations, especially practices against stray animals, following the legal change made in 2024.

The initiative will open the case and hold a press statement in front of Çağlayan Courthouse on October 2, at 12:00.

Meşe said that one of the main reasons for the application was the exhaustion of domestic legal remedies in Turkey.

Arguing that there have been violations in the practices towards stray animals following the legal change made in 2024, Meşe stated that allegations of mass killing of animals, torture and ill-treatment will be within the scope of the application.

Meşe argued that the applications made to public institutions and local governments have not yielded any results, and stated that they will demand that the violations that they claim are taking place in Turkey be brought to the agenda of the international public and condemned through an international application.

Stating that the application will not be limited to practices aimed only at animals, Meşe said that the practices faced by animal rights defenders will also be included in the file.

Oak; He noted that topics such as making adoption processes more difficult and imposing sanctions on associations and people known as animal rights defenders will also be discussed.

The international application of the initiative will include allegations regarding the conditions of animal care homes, as well as the incidents stated to have occurred in different provinces of Turkey.

Meşe argued that although there are regulations regarding the conditions of shelters in the current legislation, these rules are not followed. The fact that shelters are closed to visitors, that control mechanisms are not operated, that sanctions are not applied, and that crimes against animals are not effectively investigated will also be on the agenda of the application.

The initiative aims to bring allegations of animal rights violations in Turkey to the agenda at the international level through an international application and to condemn these practices.