More than 50,000 citizens across India, including nearly 10,000 from the National Capital Territory of Delhi, participated in a massive letter-petition campaign on Saturday, urging the Supreme Court to reconsider
its controversial November 7 order concerning community dogs. The citizens, comprising students, homemakers, professionals, and activists, opted for the traditional, deeply personal format of handwritten letters to the Chief Justice of India, aiming to convey the sincerity and depth of public concern regarding the fate of stray animals.
The campaign was a direct and emotional pushback against the apex court’s directive, issued on November 7, 2025, in a suo motu petition related to dog bite incidents. The order specifically instructed all states and union territories to “forthwith” remove stray dogs from sensitive institutional areas—including educational institutions, hospitals, sports complexes, bus depots, and railway stations—and relocate them to designated shelters after due sterilisation and vaccination under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023. Crucially, the court explicitly directed that the dogs must not be released back into the same location, carving out a significant exception to the ABC Rule’s core “Capture-Sterilise-Vaccinate-Release” (CSVR) principle.
Animal welfare activists leading the movement strongly criticised the order, labelling it as unscientific, impractical, and, potentially, a “death sentence” for the animals. They argued that the country severely lacks the necessary infrastructure, including functional and humane shelters, to house the millions of stray dogs that would be displaced. The forceful removal and displacement of vaccinated, sterilised, and familiar community dogs, they contend, would not only cause immense suffering but also create a vacuum in their territories, which could swiftly be filled by new, unsterilised, and potentially aggressive dogs, thereby worsening the problem it sought to solve.
The nationwide response, with postal receipts being uploaded from cities ranging from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, underscores a section of the public’s deep emotional connection with community dogs and the growing support for humane, coexistence-based solutions. The letters collectively call for a stay, recall, and reconsideration of the November 7 order, urging the Supreme Court to prioritise rigorous implementation of the existing ABC rules—focusing on sterilisation, vaccination, and the creation of designated feeding zones—rather than mass relocation and displacement.
