Animal lovers hold protests across Delhi against stray dog ruling

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) Animal rights activists and pet lovers on Sunday held protests at several locations in the national capital against the proposal to relocate stray dogs to municipal shelters, which they claimed were "non-existent and ill-equipped." Demonstrations were organised at Hanuman Mandir near Connaught Place, Ramleela Maidan and Pacific Mall in Pitampura.

Protesters said the move to shift dogs in shelter homes, if carried out, would put the lives of thousands of street dogs in danger.

According to organisers, the day-long campaign began with a rally at Ramleela Maidan, which they described as the first large congregation of the animal welfare community at the venue.

While police had initially raised objections and restricted the gathering citing permissions, protesters said they were later allowed to hold a symbolic demonstration on the road outside the ground.

Around 300-400 people reportedly participated in the protest, waving placards denouncing authorities and raising the slogan 'No dog, no vote.' They later marched through waterlogged streets to Hanuman Mandir.

Despite heavy rain, the crowd continued the march and dispersed in the evening before regrouping at Pacific Mall in Pitampura for another demonstration.

Activists said the protest saw participation from a wide spectrum of society including lawyers, defence personnel, teachers, students, sanitation workers, domestic workers and children.

"It was heartening to see such solidarity for our community dogs," one organiser said.

The activists demanded that authorities focus on vaccination and sterilisation drives instead of shifting dogs to shelters.

They alleged that municipal facilities for animals were inadequate and in some cases "do not exist." The protesters also warned that any attempt to remove community dogs from their areas would be resisted.

Earlier, those seeking a stay on the Supreme Court's August 11 order said the government should not try to create a "horror situation" by claiming that people were dying from rabies.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had earlier asked authorities in Delhi-NCR to start relocating all stray dogs from streets to shelters.

However, it reserved its order on the interim prayer for a stay on some of the directions of August 11 and said the "whole problem" relating to stray dogs was a result of "inaction" on the part of local authorities. PTI SHB VN VN