Animals and animal rights

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

Visitors at the first night of the International Falcon Breeders Auction 2025 in Malham city on Aug. 5, 2025.

Culture

Saudi Arabia’s falcon auction aims to spin tradition into tourism gold

Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is seeking to diversify its economy and cultural tourism.

Iranians sit with their dogs in a park in Tehran on June 8, 2025. Iranian authorities have expanded a ban on walking dogs in public to multiple cities nationwide, citing public health, social order and safety concerns, domestic media reported on June 8. Owning and walking dogs has been a contentious topic since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, though there is no law outrightly banning dog ownership. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Despite outrage, Iran expands dog-walking ban across multiple provinces

Dog ownership has become the focus of new restrictions as Iran's government looks to police public space.

Turkish animal rights activists pet a dog during a demonstration to protect stray dogs and cats in Istanbul on July 30, 2024.

Turkey’s stray dogs killed in droves after passage of Erdogan-backed law

The legislation was rammed through parliament last month by AKP lawmakers and their nationalist allies in the face of nationwide protests.

Latest News

Turkey passes controversial stray dog bill amid fears of imminent mass culling

Animal right activists attend a protest against the ruling party AKP's bill aimed at removing stray dogs from the streets, on June 2, 2024, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Analysis

Turkey’s opposition fears political motives behind stray dog bill

A stray dog sits in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Aug. 23, 2022.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkey walks back controversial stray dogs bill amid fears of mass cullings

Animal right activists attend a protest against the ruling party AKP's bill aimed at removing stray dogs from the streets, on June 2, 2024, in Istanbul.

Turkey’s animal rights advocates fear mass culling as lawmakers debate stray dog bill

Stray dogs lie on the grass in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul on August 23, 2022.

A stray dog sits in front of the Hagia Grand Mosque, in Istanbul, on May 30, 2024.

Turkey's street dogs face mass cullings as Erdogan touts euthanization bill

The bill has caused uproar among animal lovers, triggering noisy demonstrations.

Turkish Van cats play in an enclosure at the Van Cat Research Center on Feb. 8, 2018, in Van, Turkey.

Turkey's famed Van cats see birthrates surge

The exotic cats have been saved from extinction by a research and breeding center.

Laura

Turkish man rapes Dutch cow; Islamophobes have a field day

The incident is likely to serve as ammunition for the swelling number of Islamophobes in the country.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / A dog wonders past debris following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, in the southern of Gaza Strip, on October 16, 2023. The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to around 2,750 since Hamas's deadly attack on southern Israel last week, the Gaza health ministry said October 16. Some 9,700 people have also been injured as Israel continued its withering air campaign on targets in the Palestinian coastal enclave, the Hamas-controlled ministry added. (Photo by

Gaza's animals not spared from war, suffer starvation, trauma and diseases

With majority of the population displace and the humanitarian conditions worsening, animals in the war-ravaged enclave are subjected to dire conditions as Israeli bombardment continues

Eleven lions have been moved from the Sudan conflict zone to a sanctuary in South Africa.

Lions traumatized by Sudan war find safe haven in South African sanctuary

The war has not only created a devastating humanitarian crisis, but it has also impacted the welfare of wildlife in Sudan.

Race camels resting before a race in Qatar.

Culture

Kuwait holds annual camel race as sport regains regional traction

Camel racing is popular throughout the region, even as other sports grow.

Hatira, a Saluki who runs “like a bullet,” in Aliyaa, Syria on Nov. 22, 2023.

Syrian Kurdish village breeds ancient Saluki dogs amid ravages of war

Wealthy Arabs from the Gulf — sheikhs, emirs and princes included — are some of the top customers of Syria's Saluki breeders.

A woman sits with her German shepherd at the Barking Lot cafe in Saudi Arabia.

Culture

In cultural shift, Saudi Arabia allows pets on public transportation

Pet owners can now bring their pets onto buses, boats and trains in the kingdom, but only under certain conditions.

Egypt dog

Culture

Egypt's dog breed ban leaves owners scrambling to save their pets

Only 10 dog breeds to be permitted in Egypt without "safety inspection" under measure prompted by high-profile case earlier this year.

A dog stands in the Great Court of the Temple of Karnak, Luxor, Egypt, Jan. 17, 2022.

Culture

Egyptians are abandoning their pets as cost of living shoots up

Many Egyptians have been forced to abandon their pets due to the rapid increase in the cost of living.

dog turkey

Culture

Husky dog rescued from rubble 23 days after Turkey earthquakes

The dog’s overall health is good despite dramatic weight loss, volunteers say.

YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Iran mourns loss of Pirouz, critically endangered cheetah cub

Many Iranians had been closely following the critically endangered cheetah cub, which became a symbol of hope amid hardship and state repression.