Animal lovers protest at stray dog shelter in Delhi's Rohini; police allow inspection

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) Members of animal welfare organisations and dog lovers staged a protest outside a stray dog shelter in north Delhi's Rohini, alleging cruelty towards the animals and demanding their release in line with Supreme Court directions, police said on Saturday.

The top court on Friday modified its August 11 direction prohibiting the release of vaccinated stray dogs from shelter homes in Delhi-NCR calling it "too harsh", and ordered the canines be released post sterilisation and de-worming.

According to police, a call was received at the Shahbad Dairy police station about the protest at the dog shelter in Sector 27 on Friday.

The demonstrators claimed the dogs were being mistreated and sought immediate access to inspect the premises, police said.

"In view of the situation, a team was deployed at the spot to maintain order. To address the protesters' concerns, inspection of the shelter was allowed by groups of five members each," a senior police officer said.

During the inspection, police said, 113 stray dogs were found housed at the facility.

"All the dogs were found to be in healthy condition, with no signs of cruelty or mistreatment. Only one dog was found to be unwell, which was already undergoing treatment," the officer said.

The facts were explained to the protesters, following which the situation was pacified and the crowd dispersed, the officer added. PTI SSJ SHS ARI