SC orders permanent relocation of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR streets to shelters
NEW DELHI, Aug 11: The Supreme Court’s order to remove all stray dogs from Delhi-NCR localities on Monday sparked mixed reactions. While RWAs have welcomed the order, animal rights activists including Maneka Gandhi argued that civic bodies lack the land and funds to carry out the “mammoth” task and warned it could worsen human-dog conflict.
Former Union minister Vijay Goel also hailed the top court’s order on the shifting of stray dogs to shelter homes as an endorsement of his ‘no dogs on streets policy’ demand.
Terming the court’s directive for the Delhi government and civic bodies as one of the most “regressive ideas” to date, activists said the order has caused panic among everyone — from dog feeders to animal lovers in general.
“It’s such a childish order from a Supreme Court judge, which has to be challenged and will be challenged for sure… There is absolutely no infrastructure to execute such an order. The one MCD and other corporations, if I include NCR, cannot sterilize or vaccinate dogs properly. Now, how can they plan a massive thing like this?” said an angry Nikhil Mahesh, founder of Umeed for Animals Foundation — a rescue and rehabilitation centre in Gurugram.
“You need an immense land bank. You need massive funds. It is an impulsive reaction. They clearly didn’t think it through. Mark my words, this will only increase panic between people and dogs,” Mahesh said.
The animal activist has been flooded with frantic calls from dog feeders and worried animal lovers since the order was issued.
Animal rights activist and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi called the directive “impractical”, “financially unviable” and “potentially harmful” to the region’s ecological balance.
Gandhi said that the scale of the task makes it “unworkable”.
“You have three lakh dogs in Delhi. To get them all off the roads, you’ll have to make 3,000 pounds, each with drainage, water, a shed, a kitchen, and a watchman. That will cost about Rs 15,000 crore. Does Delhi have Rs 15,000 crore for this?” she told PTI.
Several animal welfare organisations also criticised the Supreme Court’s order, calling the move “unscientific and ineffective”.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India said the forced removal of Delhi’s community dogs, estimated at around 10 lakh, would create “chaos and suffering” for both the animals and residents.
“Displacement and jailing of dogs has never worked,” said Dr Mini Aravindan, senior director of veterinary affairs at PETA India.
She said the government should instead strengthen sterilisation and vaccination programmes, close illegal pet shops and breeders, and encourage adoption.
Alokparna Sengupta, managing director of Humane World for Animals India, called the move “misguided” and “counterproductive”.
“Relocating dogs merely shifts the issue elsewhere. Long-term strategies like scaling up Animal Birth Control programmes are the scientifically proven solution,” she said.
While issuing a series of directions to address the growing menace of dog bite incidents, the Supreme Court on Monday warned that strict action would be taken against any individual or organisation obstructing the authorities from picking up stray dogs.The bench, further clarified that while it would hear arguments from the Centre, petitions from dog lovers or other parties on the matter would not be entertained.
“We are issuing these directions keeping larger public interest in mind,” the bench said, adding that infants, young children should not at any cost fall prey to stray dog bites leading to rabies.
Atul Goyal, president of United Resident Joint Action (URJA), an apex body of RWAs in the national capital, said dog bite cases have been rising steadily, and this order will help provide relief from the problem.
Former Union minister Goel claimed that on average, around 2,000 dog bites were reported in Delhi alone, and this figure could be around 5,000 if the National Capital Region (NCR) were included.
The former Delhi BJP president has been running a movement for a solution to the growing menace of stray dogs through a non-profit organisation, Lok Abhiyan, for the last two years. (PTI)