THE LAST ADVENTURE IN OUR UNENDING STORY OF POLARIZATION RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ADMINISTRATION IN CONTROL OF STRAY DOGS

The number of stray animals in our country is increasing day by day, and the number of incidents in which these animals are harmed or harmed by other animals also increases in parallel. With the increase in the conventional and social media coverage of these events, the issue of responsibility of central or local governments has come to the fore.

In Article 6 of the Animal Protection Law No. 5199; “It is obligatory to take homeless or weakened animals to animal shelters established or permitted by local governments as soon as possible. It is ensured that these animals are kept in observation places to be established in the said centers. It is essential that the animals that have been sterilized, vaccinated and rehabilitated in the observation areas are first released into the environment they were taken from after they are recorded. there are regulations. As can be seen from the article, the main authority given to local governments in this regard is; Rehabilitation of these animals is to be vaccinated and left to the place where they were taken. In Article 17 of the aforementioned law; “The authority to supervise whether the provisions of this Law are complied with rests with the Ministry. When necessary, this authority may be delegated by the Ministry to the highest civilian authority of the locality.” There are expressions. The aforementioned article gave the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate the supervisory authority regarding the activities specified in the law regarding stray animals, but stated that this authority could be transferred to the governors and district governorships.

In Article 21 of the Implementing Regulation on the Protection of Animals, which was enacted based on the Animal Protection Law No. 5199, the duties and authorities of the administrations were further detailed; “Animals that cannot be adopted in temporary nursing homes for ten days despite the necessary announcements are made, are recorded at least seven days after they are sterilized with controls, vaccinations and medical interventions and their operation wounds are closed, and they are returned to the environment where they were taken with the approval of the veterinarian, with the signs showing that they have received the intervention on them. ” expressions are used. As can be understood from the regulation, with a few exceptions, the main responsibility and authority given to the administrations is to keep the population under control by sterilization.

The responsibility of the administration is examined doctrinally under two sub-headings. These are classified as faulty liability and strict liability. Faulty liability; It is general, independent, objective, objective and anonymous. The principal and primary responsibility of the administration is faulty liability; may manifest as poor service, late processing, or no service at all. Lawsuits arising from faulty liability are brought against the administration and compensation is received from the administration, but the right of recourse against public officials with faults is reserved. Perfect liability; It is examined under two sub-headings: the principle of danger and equality against public burdens (equalization of sacrifice). The danger principle is; The dangerous activities of the administration are classified as occupational risk and social risk. In the principle of strict liability, although the administration does not have any fault in the existing damage, it is aimed to compensate the losses since the damage is generally caused by an activity of the administration.

In this study, the responsibility of the administration regarding the damages caused by stray dogs is explained. In this context, first of all, the main subject legal provisions that regulate the authority of the administration on stray stray animals are mentioned, and then the studies are explained by giving examples from the practice. The responsibility of the administration arising from the events experienced in this regard has been analyzed from a legal point of view, and various suggestions have been made for the future.

Keywords: Stray Dogs, Animal Protection Law No. 5199, Liability of the Administration, Flawed Liability, Strict Liability.