On a warm summer evening in Ankara, four dogs charged down one of the sleepy streets, barking with the self-assurance of animals enjoying the run of Turkey’s capital.
The noisy canine pack — some sporting brightly coloured state-issued tags in their ears — are among the estimated 4mn “street dogs” that along with feral cats are ever-present in Turkey’s cities and sprawling countryside. The stray dog population is on a par with total number of people living in Izmir, Turkey’s third-biggest province.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling party has signalled that it will soon unveil a new, unpitying approach to managing this vast population — at least when it comes to dogs. Local governments would be required to round up strays, sterilise them and put them up for adoption. Those that fail to find a home after 30 days would be killed by injection, according to a draft law circulated in state-aligned media.