It was reported yesterday that Turkey’s Parliament intend on opening a zoo in the gardens of Ankara’s Grand National Assembly in an attempt to bring attention to the issue of animal rights in the country.
It is suggested that the Turkish Parliament want to draw attention to animal rights because of the varying attitudes towards animals and their welfare across the country. A number of severe cases of animal abuse came to the fore before the presidential elections in the country last year and this prompted President Erdogan to tweet the following in June last year:
“Protecting animals is not just our duty but a requirement of our faith. Animals are not property but living beings. We brought out the first law on animal protection in 2004. In the new period, we will prioritise the bringing into force of the government draft containing new sanctions in relation to animal rights.”
It is a sad irony that President Erdogan acknowledges that animals are not property but are living beings but wants to draw attention to this cause by opening an exhibit that uses animals as though they are property. Zoos are commercially driven and never prioritise the true needs of the animals imprisoned there. Animals are kept in enclosures often not fit for them to exhibit their natural behaviours and are put on parade for human entertainment. The most insidious thing about zoos is that they convey a narrative of caring about the animals and ‘conservation’. It can never be in an animal’s interest for them to be objectified for human gratification and the very concept of conservation is anthropocentrism in action. Humans do not want to address our destructive behaviours that drive many species to extinction but would rather behave as an abuser offering a ‘helping hand’ to their victims – putting a plaster on after the injury has been caused.
Whilst it is a step forward to see Turkey putting animals on their political agenda, creating a zoo in its name is not the way to go about it. Any meaningful advancement for animals must be predicated on removing animals’ property status and the unfettered ability of humans to use animals as they wish. We need to move away from an anthropocentric patriarchal outlook which creates the false hierarchies of worth that enable animal oppression. It is doubtful whether Turkey would move in this direction given the prevailing global attitudes towards animals and this mis-guided attempt to draw attention to the animal rights cause. In this context, it is also worth noting Turkey’s lacking track record in protecting human rights and the rule of law, which has historically been a stumbling block in Turkey’s application to join the EU. It is hard to see how there can be any advancement for anyone whilst fundamental rights and freedoms are not properly instituted for anyone.
The Vegan Feminist Lawyer 