This is the English version of a Turkish article. The original, with further detail and linked petition templates, is at Hayvana Kötü Muamele: 7332 Sayılı Kanunla Gelen Suçlar.
The 2021 amendment to the Animal Protection Act (Law no. 5199) took the gravest acts against animals, owned and stray alike, out of the category of administrative offences and made them criminal offences. Intentional killing, torture, sexual assault and animal fighting now carry imprisonment. Other acts remain misdemeanours punishable by an administrative fine.
For many years ill-treatment of animals attracted only an administrative fine. Law no. 7332, passed in 2021, changed that.
This article explains which acts are now offences, which remain misdemeanours, and how to report them.
What Changed?
The 2021 amendment to Law no. 5199 introduced two fundamental changes.
First: the legal status of animals changed. The Act now treats animals, including owned animals, as living beings to be protected — which provided the basis for heavier penalties.
Second: acts previously punishable only by an administrative fine became criminal offences carrying imprisonment.
This is the most significant legislative change in the field of animal welfare in Turkey.
Which Acts Are Criminal Offences?
Article 28/A of Law no. 5199 lists the acts constituting offences. The principal ones are:
- killing animals with the aim of exterminating a species
- intentionally killing owned animals
- killing an animal belonging to an endangered species
- sexually assaulting animals
- animal fighting (except the traditional displays the Act permits)
- subjecting animals to torture or cruel and merciless treatment
The Act further provides for the sentence to be increased where these acts are committed against more than one animal at the same time.
These offences are not subject to complaint; the prosecutor acts of their own motion.
Which Acts Remain Misdemeanours?
Other acts continue to be punishable by an administrative fine. These are listed in Article 28:
- treating animals badly, or subjecting them to procedures causing pain and suffering
- neglecting the care of pet animals
- abandoning pet or controlled animals
- keeping or transporting animals in unsuitable conditions
- preventing people from feeding stray animals
- breaching the rules on the sale of animals
- failing to comply with registration and identification requirements
Administrative fines are imposed by municipal enforcement officers, provincial agriculture and forestry directorates, or the police.
Such fines may be challenged before the magistrate's court for criminal matters within fifteen days of service, under the Misdemeanours Act.
The Act also contains provisions on banning those who have ill-treated animals from keeping them, and on the seizure of the animal.
| Act | Classification |
|---|---|
| Intentionally killing an animal | Offence (imprisonment) |
| Torture and cruel treatment | Offence |
| Sexual assault | Offence |
| Animal fighting | Offence |
| Killing an animal of an endangered species | Offence (sentence increased) |
| Abandoning an animal | Misdemeanour (administrative fine) |
| Failing to meet care and housing standards | Misdemeanour |
| Failing to comply with registration and vaccination requirements | Misdemeanour |
Acts amounting to offences are reported to the public prosecutor; misdemeanours to the municipality and the provincial agriculture and forestry directorate.
Where Should a Report Be Made?
The channel depends on the nature of the act:
- For acts amounting to offences: a criminal complaint to the chief public prosecutor's office; in an emergency, call the police so that officers attend.
- For misdemeanours: a report to the municipal enforcement officers, the provincial agriculture and forestry directorate, or the police.
- The presidential communications centre can also be used; it creates a record and prompts the administration to act.
- Reports are also possible through the national animal information system and the relevant ministry's channels.
The evidence to gather: dated photographs and video, a veterinary report (showing the cause of the injury or death), witness statements, camera footage, and a record of the scene.
The veterinary report is particularly important: it establishes the cause of death or injury and the element of intent. An autopsy may be requested for an animal that has died.
Animal welfare associations can also join such proceedings as intervening parties and follow them; applying to one is worthwhile.
What Else Can Be Claimed?
Harm to an owned animal. Besides criminal liability, the owner has a claim in damages. Veterinary costs, treatment expenses and, where the conditions are met, non-pecuniary damages may be claimed.
Keeping animals in apartment buildings. The Condominium Act and the management plan apply. A management plan may contain provisions prohibiting the keeping of animals, but enforcing them is subject to the tests of concrete nuisance and abuse of right.
Preventing people from feeding stray animals is itself sanctioned under Law no. 5199.
Animals in rented homes. Where the tenancy agreement prohibits keeping animals, breaching that term may amount to a breach of contract. Clarify the point before signing.
Hitting an animal on the road. Doing so intentionally is an offence. After an accident, failing to stop and help may give rise to separate liability, and harm caused to an owned animal must be compensated.
The acts made criminal offences by Law no. 7332 — intentionally killing an owned animal, torture, sexual assault, animal fighting — are not subject to complaint; the prosecutor investigates of their own motion. Obtain a veterinary report as evidence, and request an autopsy where necessary.