In a major revision of its earlier stance, the Supreme Court on Friday modified its August 11 order on the management of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR, calling the earlier directive “too harsh.” The court had previously ordered that all stray dogs picked up by civic bodies be permanently housed in shelters, a move that drew sharp criticism from animal welfare groups and sparked tensions in residential communities.
Supreme Court Modifies Previous Order On Stray Dogs
A three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath, with Justices Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria, clarified that stray dogs should instead be sterilised, vaccinated, dewormed and released back into the same locality from which they were taken. The exception will apply only to canines suffering from rabies, suspected rabies cases, or those displaying aggressive behaviour. Such dogs must be sterilised and immunised but housed in separate shelters rather than released onto the streets.
“The feeding areas shall be created and identified keeping in view the population and concentration of stray dogs in a particular municipal ward,” the bench said, as per a report on PTI.
The bench acknowledged that the earlier order had been issued without fully considering the limitations of municipal infrastructure and human resources.
Municipal authorities across Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurugram have also been directed to create dedicated feeding zones for stray dogs in every ward. The court said these areas should be marked with signboards and set up in consultation with the population density of stray dogs in each locality.
Earlier, during an August 14 hearing, the special bench had remarked that the growing problem of stray dogs in Delhi-NCR was a direct result of municipal inaction and poor implementation of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules on sterilisation and immunisation.
“The aforesaid directions are being issued in view of the reports regarding untoward incidents caused by unregulated feeding of stray dogs and to ensure that practice of feeding dogs on the roads and in public places is eliminated as the said practice creates great difficulties for the common man walking on the streets,” the bench said, as per the report.
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