In the Indian capital, there is anger about a new instruction for stray dogs to remove animal rights activists from roads. After dozens of protesters were arrested on Tuesday, India’s Chief Justice Bra Gavai said he “looks at” the order issued by the Supreme Court.
The order, which was handed over on Monday, directs authorities in Delhi to transfer all stray dogs to the surrenders dedicated to the roads of residential areas within two months. The court said that the order came in response to an increase in the cases of dog bits and rabies.
“Infants and young children, at any cost, should not fall prey to rabies. The action must be motivated to inspire the fact that they can make independently how well being asked by stray dogs,” the order said.
Based on various surveys coming from Delhi’s Municipal Corporation (MCD), and animal rights activists, the estimated stray dog population in Delhi has been cited to be 800,000 tonnes 1 million.
While some residents of the Indian capital see these dogs as a danger, other animals see the part of the company and the urban ecosystem.
Dog lovers and activists say that the municipalities are not ready to safely remove and give shelter to the anticipated number of estimated numbers to roam the streets of Delhi.
“The order of the court is irrational, impractical, inhuman and illegal. It is like scoring your next door neighbor. Thesis dogs live here for generations. They are Delhi, the whole, just trying to survive like the rest of us,” The people of the animal (PETA) for the moral treatment of animals.
Many dogs, very little shelter
Animal Rights Activists argue that the Supreme Court order violates the so -called animal birth control (ABC) rules, who are calling for sterilization, vaccination and return of dogs in their areas as a human and scientific proven law control.
Data in India’s Parliament showed over 3.7 million cases of dog bits and 54 suspected human deaths reported in the country of 1.4 billion people in 2024. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare shows about 2.75 million dog bites in 2023.
According to the official municipal data used as a basis for recently judicial action, more than 26,000 dog bites have been reported in Delhi this year.
Critics of the removal order argue that it is logically impossible for authorities to establish shelters and resources on a scale envisaged by the apex court. The municipality of Delhi operates only 20 animal control centers, with a joint capacity of 5,000 less dogs.
“Catching, feeding, and daily care for thousands of dogs daily will require large annual discovery for animal cathers, ambulances, veterinary doctors and big teams for daily maintenance, which is currently lacquer,” Anjali Gopalan, “Anjali Gopalan, who runs great and small, animal rights NGOs, stated.
Gopalan told DW, “The only way to deal with the stray dog population is to stabilize it by sterilization and vaccination. Bytes and rabies go up. If dogs are sterilized and vaccinated, they are taken out of age.
Is there a better solution?
Bharati Ramkandran, CEO of the Indian Animal Protection Organizations (FIAPO) Federation, who has been important for the order of the court, stated that healthy, vaccinated dogs’ large -scale shelters “impractical and inhuman”.
“The court order is contrary to global public health guidance. In addition, ABC rules require that sterilized and vaccinated community dogs be returned to their original areas after treatment,” Ramkandran told DW.
“We are still studying the order and seeing how we can remove the course of future action,” he said.
Activists say that removing sterilized dogs from an area may allow unwanted dogs to enter, which can lead to “vacuum effects”.
“When the dogs are removed, the rodent increases as dogs help control their population. Therefore, both proper waste and waste management is important to reduce the availability of food for both stray dogs and Roden, managed further risks. NGO Head Gopalan.
In Jaipur, the state capital of Rajasthan, the animal rescue group has been running an ABC program for a decade, which has allegedly performed the population of a dog -roaming dog. The ratio of puppies fell to just 2% of the total number of dogs.
The state of Goa has obtained about 70% vaccination coverage of its dog population as part of its mass canine vaccination program to control rabies.
This success has been provided significant assistance using an app-based tracking system that enables the spatial direction of the vaccination teams and the real-time monitoring of the vaccination rates.
Similarly, a city-wide census in Bengaluru saw a decrease of about 10%stray dogs.
Agarwal said from PETA, “The formula according to the law is simple and vaccinated dogs.
Ayesha Christina Ben of Neberhood Woof for NGOs for Dog Welfare said that Delhi’s dog control order can cause more damage.
“Scientifically, … this order can be catatrophic, it will reduce the councils of sterilization as this practice is being done in a knee fashion, and in real sterilization centers [are] Blag used to climb dogs, “he told DW.
“We are not only equipped for long -term care. Effective street dog management requires more public participation,” Ben said.
Edited by: Wesley Rahan
