First Lady Sibel Tatar issues statement over the slaughter of four dogs in the Karpaz following the statement of President Ersin Tatar
First Lady Sibel Tatar has called for the legislation governing animal cruelty to be amended to cover a wider scope of animals – to allow for culprits to be prosecuted.
Mrs Tatar, who is also a lawyer, said in a written statement that the present form of the law “has shortcomings and needs to be updated”.
She said: “As wife of the President and as a person who loves animals, I feel compelled to make this call for the necessary amendments to be made to the law”.
“Following the statement of our President, who expressed his shock at the brutal act involving the massacre of four dogs in the Karpaz which has caused outrage in the country, those responsible for this incident must be caught and brought to justice.”
The First Lady said that following the statement by President Tatar which stated that he would monitor the police investigation closely to trace and bring to justice the perpetrators, a new debate has been started in the country on the issue of making amendments to the relevant article of the Penal Code on animal cruelty.
“This crime envisages a prison sentence of up to four years in Turkey and up to five years in the UK,” Mrs Tatar said.
In the statement made by President Ersin Tatar and First Lady Sibel Tatar, together with the photos of their animal companions who were adopted from the street and currently housed in the Presidential garden, it was pointed out that current legislation is insufficient in providing protection to animals.
Mrs Tatar stated that, according to the relevant article of the Penal Code, the “murder of four dogs are treated as being a minor crime, and that only a prison sentence of up to two years is envisaged”. With the Turkish Animal Protection Law, she said the penalty for this crime is four years.