A bill which would have increased the punishment for animal fighting in the north was rejected in ‘parliament’ on Monday, with independent ‘MP’ Hasan Tosunoglu insisting that cock fighting is “a part of Cypriot culture”.

The bill, which would have provided for six-year prison sentences for those caught engaging in animal fighting, was sent back to the ‘parliamentary’ legal committee by the ‘government’ after Tosunoglu’s intervention, with him adamant that cock fighting is an integral part of the island’s culture.

“This is a matter of process. We need to think about our cultural facts. We talk about Cypriotness, we must protect this culture,” he said. 

Ruling coalition party UBP ‘MP’ and legal committee chairwoman Yasemi Ozturk said after the debate that her committee would discuss the matter again on Thursday.

“My personal opinion regarding the bill is that it should pass as it is. A new proposal has come, and we will discuss it, but I am telling you now openly that my vote definitely will not change,” she said.

Opposition ‘MPs’ were less charitable in their rhetoric towards Tosunoglu, with committee deputy chairman and opposition party CTP ‘MP’ Erkut Sahali saying, “if this bill is not passed as it is, you too should be sentenced to six years in prison.”

Fellow CTP ‘MP’ Dogus Derya accused Tosunoglu of putting his own electoral interests above the interests of animals.

“Right now, three to five impertinent people are making money by killing animals because they cannot defend themselves, and if you are sacrificing this legislative work because they have votes, you are also murderers,” she began.

“There can be no human being who finds this violence against animals to be right,” she added.

“Whatever the reason, is your concern the votes of three cock fighters to stay in these seats for two more days? Is this parliament’s duty? Two or three ignorant MPs who do not bother to turn up at the committees all of a sudden find a voice in the plenary session and turn this place into a laughing stock.”

Tosunoglu responded by asking, “what were Dogus Derya’s feelings when she threw water at the parliament speaker?”, in reference to Derya’s throwing of water at Ziya Ozturkler during the political crisis which engulfed the north in November.

Outside ‘parliament’, the Morphou animal protection association’s chairwoman Rana Sarro issued a “condemnation” of Hasan Tosunoglu.

“What you are doing is not populism, what you are clearly doing is openly representing the murderous cock fighting mafia!” she said.

“Are you defending the mafia which breaks cocks’ beaks during fights glues them back together with watery glue, and then throws them back into the ring? Or do you think that a cock’s eye bursting during a fight, watching them tear each other apart while eating kebabs is not worthy of a prison sentence?”