Animal rights activists laud SC order on stray dogs; RWAs question feasibility of feeding spots

New Delhi, Aug 22 (PTI) Animal rights activists and several politicians including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday welcomed the Supreme Court's revised directions on stray dogs, even as various residents welfare associations (RWAs) in the city expressed concern over the proposed feeding points in every municipal ward, calling it "impractical and difficult to implement".

Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said that the MCD will implement the direction with "full strength" and pick up only those dogs that are aggressive or have attacked people, while other canines will remain "undisturbed" after vaccination and sterilisation.

The Supreme Court on Friday modified its recent direction prohibiting the release of vaccinated stray dogs from pounds in Delhi-NCR, calling it "too harsh" and ordered the canines to be released post sterilisation and deworming.

The top court, however, said municipal authorities would continue to comply with the August 11 directions to pick up stray dogs from all localities of Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram and immediately create dog shelters or pounds.

Krishna Devi, the aunt of six-year-old Chhavi whose life was cut short by a stray dog attack in June, said that on August 11, when the Supreme Court had ordered stray dogs to be picked up and shifted to shelters, they felt a sense of relief, but "today, we are helpless again".

"All we can do is accept the Supreme Court's order with a heavy heart and hope no more children suffer because of this. What can we do if the public is enraged, if the protesters are enraged? We can only pray that no more lives are lost," she added.

Rahul Gandhi welcomed the revised direction and said it marks a progressive step towards balancing animal welfare and public safety.

In a post on X, the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said, "I welcome the Supreme Court's revised directions on stray dogs, as it marks a progressive step toward balancing animal welfare and public safety." "The approach is both compassionate and rooted in scientific reasoning," he said.

Hailing the top court's order "scientific", former Union minister Maneka Gandhi said, "We are very happy with it." "Until now, dogs were picked up, sterilised and thrown in another place. There was no benefit to sterilisation because when a dog is left in a strange area after a major operation, it is scared, in pain and does not know who will feed it. That is when it bites," she told PTI Videos.

Soon after the pronouncement, animal lovers broke into celebrations at Jantar Mantar and hugged each other and raised celebratory slogans. Some thanked God with "Har Har Mahadev". Many described the ruling as a "victory" of compassion.

"Now we will not have to send our kids anywhere," said one of the celebrants.

"This is a historic day. The court has upheld the right way of caring for community animals. Our 'street kids' will remain with us, and we will continue to take care of them," the person said.

Another activist said the judgment brought "immense relief" to those who share a close bond with stray dogs.

In Bulandshahr's Khurja region, the family of state-level kabaddi player Brijesh Solanki (22), who died in June after being bitten by a stray puppy, welcomed the top court's recent ruling in the stray dogs case.

Solanki had ignored a bite on his finger while rescuing a puppy from a drain, did not get an anti-rabies vaccine in time and succumbed to the infection two months later.

His brother Sandeep Solanki told PTI, "We agree with the court's decision. The directions given by the Supreme Court to control stray dogs are commendable. We hope such measures can prevent families from suffering tragedies like ours." Meanwhile, a group of animal welfare groups and activists demanded that they must be included as official "stakeholders" in all decisions related to stray animals.

Speaking at a press conference, Ambika Shukla, Trustee of the People for Animals organisation, said, "We must be recognised as stakeholders. We have experience and want to help. Shelters are not a long-term solution.

"The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, which are backed by the WHO, already explain how stray dogs should be handled. The problem is with implementation." Various RWAs in the city have expressed concern over the court's directive to set up designated feeding points for stray dogs in every locality, calling the move "impractical and difficult to implement".

They maintained that such feeding points may create disturbances in the residential colonies.

"Residents will strongly object to setting up feeding spots near their houses, as such places could attract dozens of dogs at one time, leading to chaos," Sanjay Gandhi, general secretary of United Residents of Delhi (URD), an umbrella body of RWAs, said.

He said that they have long demanded that dangerous and biting dogs be removed from residential areas. "While the court has addressed this concern, we fear that the children and the elderly will continue to remain vulnerable until proper mechanisms are put in place," he said.

Atul Goyal, president of United Resident Joint Action (URJA), another umbrella body representing 2,500 RWAs, said the order was not unexpected. "It is the role of the MCD to identify feeding points, not RWAs. If such places are earmarked inside colonies, locals are bound to oppose them," he said.

MCD's Standing Committee Chairperson Satya Sharma said that the civic body will identify suitable locations across the city and work on the order at the earliest. PTI SHB NSM SGV BUN 1.0.0 KSS KSS