The Supreme Court on Friday revised its earlier stance regarding stray dogs, stating that canines will now be returned to their original locations following sterilisation and vaccination.
The court had initially, on August 11, directed authorities to remove all stray dogs from public areas in Delhi-NCR within eight weeks, instructing that shelters be set up to house them without releasing them back. Follow Supreme Court stray dogs order news updates
On Friday, the court further instructed municipal bodies to designate specific feeding zones for stray animals, clarifying that feeding on public roads will not be allowed.
All states and union territories have been asked to join the proceedings and offer input toward a nationwide framework.
Animal rights advocates and welfare groups voiced strong objections to the initial order.
A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan had on July 28 taken up the matter on its own after noticing a media report.
Their August 11 directive called for the urgent construction of shelters across Delhi and the immediate relocation of stray dogs to those facilities within eight weeks.
However, the very next day, Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai reassigned the case to a different bench led by Justice Vikram Nath.
That new three-judge bench reviewed the matter on August 14 and reserved its decision on whether to halt the August 11 order.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, speaking for the government, criticised what he called performative animal activism, saying “there is a very loud vocal minority and silent suffering majority.”
“Thirty seven lakhs a year, 10,000 per day. This is dog bites. Rabies deaths – 305 deaths for the same year, WHO’s modelling shows much higher number,” LiveLaw quoted Mehta as saying.
