Humans created the man-dog relationship, using the animal for companionship and security. Dogs are our friends and Indian laws have protected and safeguarded them. The inefficiency and corruption of our civic bodies should not be a reason to cause them suffering and cruelty. – Dr. Nanditha Krishna
On August 11, a Supreme Court bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan passed an order on their suo motu cognisance of the stray dog issue in the capital, and directed the administrations of the National Capital Territory of Delhi to pick up strays from all localities and never release them back into public spaces. How to undertake this massive task was their problem, even creating a dog-catcher force if necessary. Enough shelters had to be established to house at least 5,000 stray dogs in the first eight weeks. The pounds had to be staffed well, the dogs dewormed, sterilised and immunised, and the shelters monitored with CCTVs to ensure that no dogs were let out.
The honourable justices contravened the Animal Birth Control Rules (ABC), 2023, which prohibit relocation of dogs from their original location. Yet, the bench said it would not be stopped by the proscription, a surprising statement from a judge of the highest court. Nor did it permit interventions by animal welfare organisations, thereby preventing the citizen’s right to be heard.
The ruling has opened a Pandora’s box. The Rajasthan High Court has ordered the removal of all stray dogs, cattle and other animals from public places statewide. The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court has said it would direct the Tamil Nadu government to control stray cattle and dogs on the roads. Tamil Nadu minister K.N. Nehru added that his government would remove all stray dogs in the state. Puducherry has started rounding up and removing dogs. When people there fought for the dogs, those reporting them took sides. Finally, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court reopened the case and reserved its order on an interim petition seeking a stay on the two-judge bench’s order.
While everyone agrees that dog bites and rabies must be prevented, is the answer the caging up of all animals? Is there enough land and money to build these mandated shelters within the stipulated eight weeks, and funds to feed the animals and maintain staff for their upkeep? Look at the state of our zoos and their animals. If all the dogs in Delhi are locked up, dogs from neighbouring Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh will move in, for nature abhors a vacuum.
It’s an impractical idea, not to mention inhumane and cruel. If dogs are rounded up and stuffed in cages, they would fight and be subjected to great cruelty, even killing. A TV analyst suggested the dogs should be rounded up and sent to the forests in the Aravalli hills around Delhi. Does he not know that they will form feral packs? And a pack of feral dogs can bring down a tiger, not to mention several humans.
The ABC rules came into force after its successful implementation by NGOs in Chennai, Jaipur and Kalimpong in 2010. Rabies cases came to zero and dog bite cases came down drastically by 2021. But municipalities were either lethargic or too corrupt to continue ABC seriously. Meanwhile, Covid stopped all public activity. So community feeders stepped in to feed the hungry dogs, as there were roadside stalls or such to feed them.
However, when the lock-down was lifted, the community feeders kept feeding, but few took responsibility for their dogs. Many did not sterilise, immunise or check their packs for diseases. They kept feeding, the dogs kept mating and giving birth to puppies that were dumped in shelters or grew up roaming the streets. Meanwhile, the municipalities did not bother to perform their legal obligation of sterilising and vaccinating the street dogs. If they did, the dogs picked up in one area would be let loose elsewhere, leaving frightened and angry dogs attacking each other and passersby. The ABC rules specify that they must be released in the area where they were picked up, but few municipalities cared to observe the rule.
Another problem is that people buy fancy breeds, or even adopt an indie, and then lose interest and abandon the dog miles from home. The dog becomes afraid and attacks humans, who have let him down. No water to drink in the Indian summer is yet another problem. These are among the many reasons for dog bites.
And, contrary to popular belief, it is not those in Lutyens’ Delhi and Mumbai’s Malabar Hill who will suffer. It is the poor, the slum dweller who feeds a few dogs that protect his family when he goes away. The watchman whose companions are street dogs. The chaiwalla who shares his buns and biscuits, and is the source of the dogs’ sustenance. The stray dog “problem” is the result of poor ABC implementation by municipalities.
The Supreme Court should pull up the municipalities and give them a specific timeline to take up and complete ABC-AR. Experienced NGOs could be roped in, not the ones who merely work as money conduits.
Humans created the man-dog relationship, using the animal for companionship and security. Dogs are our friends and Indian laws have protected and safeguarded them. As Bhairav, they are the companions of Shiva. They represent the four Vedas when they stand beside Dattatreya. The inefficiency and corruption of our civic bodies should not be a reason to cause them suffering and cruelty. – The New Indian Express, 17 August 2025
› Dr. Nanditha Krishna is an author, historian and environmentalist based in Chennai.
Filed under: india | Tagged: animal shelters, court rulings, dogs, rabies, street dogs |
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