Frequently Asked Questions

If you apply to the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding stray animals, you will be wasting time. In cases of mistreatment of stray animals, the place to apply is the Provincial Directorates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. However, Law No. 5199 and its regulation grants the ministry the right to delegate authority to provincial directorates. For this reason, in some provinces, District Governorships and Governorships, and in some other provinces, Municipalities are authorized to delegate authority. However, even if you submit your petition to the wrong institution, public institutions are required to send your petition to the relevant institution. Make sure that your applications include evidence and are short and concise. If you are not sending your petitions via Cimer, be sure to obtain an application number and follow up.

The place to apply in cases of mistreatment of owner-owned animals is the Provincial Directorates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. However, Law No. 5199 and its regulation grants the ministry the right to delegate authority to provincial directorates. For this reason, District Governorships and Governorships are authorized to delegate authority in some provinces, and Municipalities in others. However, even if you submit your petition to the wrong institution, public institutions are required to send your petition to the relevant institution. Make sure that your applications include evidence and are short and concise. If you are not sending your petitions through Cimer, be sure to get an application number and follow up. In the petition, you can request that the animal be taken from its owner and that the owner be fined under Law No. 5199. However, some municipalities do not return confiscated animals to the complainant or volunteers. Since they are not obliged to return them to you, you may have difficulty following the fate of the animal.

In these cases, you can apply to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office where the incident occurred. Complaints about owned animals are considered within the scope of the crime of "damaging property" in the Turkish Penal Code. However, we recommend that you provide as much evidence as possible in the appendix of your petition and do not leave the evidence collection phase only to the Prosecutor's Office. Obtaining cameras around the area where the incident occurred and consulting witnesses from tradesmen or people who can see it will increase the likelihood of a lawsuit being filed. There are still Public Prosecutors who believe that pets, even if owned, cannot be considered within the scope of the crime of "damaging property" since they do not have the status of "property" within the scope of the Turkish Penal Code. For this reason, we would like to state that it would be beneficial for you to be represented by a lawyer both during the Prosecutor's investigation and during the trial (prosecution) phase.

When you are threatened, go to the nearest police station or the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office without wasting time, file a complaint and request a protection order. Such situations are considered within the scope of the crime of "threat" in the Turkish Penal Code, and if you want a criminal case to be filed, definitely try to provide witness evidence or camera footage taken in an open area to the file. However, even if a criminal case is not filed and the file is closed, you can present the closed file as evidence if the threat is real in the future. If the threat includes an act such as "poisoning", you can also ensure that the person is tried within the scope of the crime of "deliberately polluting the environment" in the Turkish Penal Code in the future complaint by stating this especially in your initial complaint. In such cases of threats, it is beneficial to definitely request protection. In cases of violation after the protection orders to be given within the scope of Law No. 6284 have been served on the person, you can ensure that the person goes to jail if you report this by calling the police station personnel assigned to you or by calling the 155 reporting line and if you catch the person at the time of the violation.

Pets kept at home cannot be evicted without a court order or notice. First of all, the law regarding keeping pets at home mentions a “management plan”. Check if there is an article such as “keeping pets in residences is prohibited” in your site management plan, which you can obtain from the land registry or the administration. If there is not, the eviction decision can only be made if your pet is disturbing the neighbors too much. In such cases, investigating the extent of the disturbance is also a delicate detail, and we definitely find it beneficial for you to meet with a lawyer who is an expert in the field of Animal Rights and authorize them to follow up on the case.

In order to amend the management plan, a four-fifths vote of all apartment owners is required, in accordance with Article 28, Paragraph 3 of the Law on Condominiums No. 634. A qualified rate has been given for the amendment, and if you are a pet owner, it would be beneficial for you to review the management plan before purchasing the property.

First of all, no public prosecutor will file a lawsuit without evidence. After collecting evidence such as camera footage from the surroundings, you need to file a criminal complaint under the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237, which includes the crime of abuse of office, depending on the nature of the incident. However, if you also show the Mayor as a suspect when filing a criminal complaint, the Prosecutor's Office will request an investigation permit from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In Turkey, no Mayor has ever been given an investigation permit by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for complaints about street animals. For these reasons, when filing a criminal complaint, we recommend that you file a criminal complaint against the officer or personnel who committed the crime, especially if you are not sure that the Mayor ordered it.

According to Law No. 5199 and its implementation regulation, stray animals can be taken from their environment for neutering and medical intervention. After they recover from the neutering surgery or medical intervention, they should first be returned to the environment they were taken from. You can apply to both the Municipality and the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor regarding a stray animal that was not returned to the environment it was taken from without any reason. The Municipality should initiate an administrative investigation against the relevant parties, and the Office of the Chief Public Prosecutor should initiate an investigation for the crime of abuse of office under the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 due to the clear violation of Law No. 5199.

Although there is no clear provision in the law regarding this, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is shown as the authority to apply for acts related to stray animals protected by Law No. 5199. In such cases, you can apply to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in your province or district and request assistance in warning your neighbors. In some provinces, such acts are considered as mistreatment of stray animals and warnings have been issued by the provincial directorates at the address. You can also apply to the relevant Municipality and request that an informational banner be hung on your street or that the relevant articles of Law No. 5199 be published on billboards.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is the inspection authority for pet shops. For this reason, you need to take photos and videos and apply to the provincial or district directorates of the Ministry with your evidence.

Owned dogs must be walked on a leash. Unfortunately, even if your dog is friendly, such a requirement has been introduced under the Turkish Penal Code. Moreover, this crime in the TCK is not a crime of harm, but a crime of danger. This means that you can be punished for just being off-leash without your dog having to harm anyone else. For this reason, do not walk your owned dogs without a leash. If you are going to let them outside, let them out in protected areas.

Article 38, Paragraph 1, Clause 6 of the Highway Transportation Regulation titled “Baggage in passenger transportation” states that “Domestic animals such as cats, dogs (except for those posing a danger) and birds (goldfinches, budgies or canaries) with a vaccination certificate may be carried outside the compartment reserved for baggage transportation, on the lap of the passenger who owns the animal or in front of the seat where they are seated, provided that their special cages are locked. In necessary cases, special trips may be arranged for the transportation of pets inside the vehicle without passengers. 2 warnings will be given to license holders who do not comply with this paragraph.” However, this provision does not apply to Metropolitan Municipalities or public transportation affiliated with Municipalities. Different provisions are included in the regulations of each municipality in public transportation affiliated with Metropolitan Municipalities or Municipalities.

Since pets are considered “property” under the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237, you can file a criminal complaint against the relevant veterinarian under the TCK’s crime of damaging property. If the Prosecutor’s Office deems it necessary, an expert report will be obtained in the investigation file, and if the report determines that the doctor’s intervention was wrong, a lawsuit can be filed against him. It has been observed that some Public Prosecutors have stated that since pets do not have the status of “property” under the TCK, they should be evaluated under 5199 and decided not to prosecute such acts. For this reason, it would be beneficial to apply with a lawyer who works in the field of Animal Rights.