The Supreme Court on Monday noted that the stray dog menace had hit India’s image globally as it expressed concern over the rising incidents of attacks by canines.
“Continuous incidents are happening. Your
country is being shown as down in the eyes of foreign nations. We are also reading news reports,” Justice Vikram Nath observed, adding: “What about cruelty towards humans?”
The apex court also took umbrage at the non-filing of compliance by various states, saying: Your officers don’t read newspapers? Were they not aware of our orders?”
The case, which began in late July following media reports on fatal stray dog attacks and rabies-related deaths in the Delhi-NCR region, has since witnessed swift and at times contradictory developments in court. In its first major intervention on August 11, a two-judge bench ordered authorities to capture all stray dogs in the NCR and keep them permanently in shelters—a directive that drew sharp criticism from animal welfare groups, who called it both unworkable and cruel.
The case took on a broader scope on August 22, when a newly constituted special three-judge bench revised the earlier “too harsh” order and brought all states and Union Territories into the proceedings. The bench also directed that similar cases pending before various high courts be transferred to the Supreme Court, aiming to frame a unified, nationwide policy on the issue in light of the uniformly applicable Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023.
