New Delhi: The Supreme Court’s directive to remove stray dogs from schools, hospitals, and other public areas across India has sparked outrage among animal rights activists, dog lovers, and NGOs. Social
media platforms were flooded with angry reactions, calling the judgment “harsh” and “impractical”.
Animal welfare groups said the order, passed in view of the “alarming rise of dog-bite incidents”, overlooks on-ground realities and threatens the welfare of community dogs that have been sterilised and vaccinated under the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules.
'Bench Disregarded Road Map On Managing Dogs'
Gauri Maulekhi, Trustee at People for Animals India, told ANI, “We are shocked to hear the orders that were passed. The bench did not hear any party and disregarded the roadmap we had submitted on managing dogs in institutional areas through sterilisation and vaccination.” She said the order requiring walls and fencing around schools, hospitals and even bus stands within two weeks was “unrealistic” and “a nightmare for the administration”.
Maulekhi added that institutions such as IITs, JNU and AIIMS already look after neutered and vaccinated dogs responsibly. “Without listening to all parties and just offhandedly asking for dogs to be removed will aggravate the problem,” she said.
Have a look at her reaction here:
Advocate and petitioner Nanita Sharma also expressed dismay over the judgment. “Such a harsh order has been passed today, yet I still believe in divine justice, that there should not be such injustice towards voiceless animals,” she told ANI.
Have a look:
Mumbai-based street dog rescue group, 'Street Dogs of Bombay' described the verdict as “A Dark Day for Stray Lives” on Instagram, adding, “Today will be remembered as one of the saddest days for India’s voiceless.”
Dog Lovers Express Outrage On Social Media
Reactions online were equally strong. One X user wrote, “A country where 17 lakh people die due to air pollution, where rapes happen every 16 minutes, where no woman can walk freely, dissenters are killed — oh but yeah, dogs are the major issue.”
Another commented, “This is not only outrageous but laughable to believe that all these public areas can be completely fenced! That too in 8 weeks. What are these judges smoking?”
Advocate Vivek Sharma said that implementing the order would strain resources, adding, “We don’t have enough funds for people, how will we manage to allocate funds for animals?”
Have a look at his entire statement here:
The Supreme Court’s Directive
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria ordered that all educational institutions, hospitals, public sports complexes, bus stands, depots, and railway stations "be fenced" to prevent the entry of stray dogs. The court added that local bodies must relocate the dogs to designated shelters after vaccination and sterilisation, ensuring they are "not released back to the same spot".
The Court also directed states and union territories to remove stray cattle and other animals from highways and expressways, warning that non-compliance would attract personal liability for senior officers. The order is to be implemented within eight weeks, with status reports to be submitted thereafter.
A Brief On the Stray Dogs Case
The issue first came before the Supreme Court on July 28, when a two-judge bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan took suo motu cognisance of a Times of India report highlighting the rise in dog-bite incidents in Delhi. On August 11, the bench directed the Delhi government to immediately pick up stray dogs and relocate them to shelters, barring their release.
However, following widespread protests across the national capital and objections that the order conflicted with previous rulings and the ABC Rules, the matter was transferred to a three-judge bench led by Justice Vikram Nath.
On August 22, the bench stayed the earlier directions, observing that prohibiting the release of sterilised and vaccinated dogs was “too harsh”. It clarified that stray dogs must be released back to their original locations after treatment, except those infected with or suspected of rabies.
Today’s order marks a shocking reversal from that stance, expanding the scope of relocation nationwide and directing that stray dogs will only be kept in shelters even after the sterilisation.
