>Turkish police have arrested a man suspected of torturing a puppy after shocking images emerged online of the maimed animal in a case that has outraged the country and grabbed the political agenda ahead of next week’s elections.
>The puppy, whose four paws and tail had been cut off, was found in a forest in the Sapanca district in the northwestern province of Sakarya and taken to a vet for treatment. The wounded animal died during surgery on Friday.
>President Tayyip Erdogan told an election rally in Istanbul on Sunday that police had detained a construction machine operator on Saturday in relation to the puppy’s death.
>Erdogan pledged that Turkey’s animal rights laws would be amended after the June 24 vote in which he is aiming to win a second term.
>“Whether at home or on the street, we will take the law into consideration and evaluate it. This operator was arrested today. The authorities in Sapanca ordered his arrest,” he said.
>“There is nothing acceptable about this, but it is very important to show this awareness.”
>The incident prompted a rare show of unity among Turkey’s political parties and presidential candidates, who have been trading barbs for weeks ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary and presidential elections.
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