The Turkish parliament has begun an emotional debate on a law aimed at solving the problem of the country's millions of stray dogs.
The government estimates there are four million stray dogs in Turkey and the law, which will be debated over several days, would allow the killing of sick animals and those with "negative behaviour".
The maximum fine for abandoning dogs will be increased 30-fold to 60,000 lira (about 3,200 leva).
Ahead of the debate, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey was facing a problem "like no other civilised country" which was "growing exponentially". Rising rabies cases are particularly worrying Ankara.
But the authorities have denied demanding mass euthanasia. Erdogan said people wanted "safe streets".
Animal rights groups have called for a mass campaign for sterilisation, while opposition parties have vowed to fight the law should it be passed in its current form.
The Republican People's Party, which controls Istanbul and other major cities, vowed that its mayors would not enforce the law. Demonstrations have taken place in recent weeks, including outside parliament.
The government has warned that mayors who refuse to enforce the law could be jailed.
The debate has revived discussion of a 1910 measure under the Ottoman Empire when tens of thousands of stray dogs were rounded up in Istanbul and sent to a deserted island in the Sea of Marmara.
The dogs ate each other and most of them starved to death. | BGNES
