Supreme Court Orders Removal of Stray Dogs: There is a lot of controversy around the Supreme Court’s directive to Delhi-NCR civic authorities to remove all stray canines from residential neighbourhoods to shelters. The verdict has been criticised as “inhumane” by animal lovers. Others have applauded it and pointed to instances of stray dogs assaulting old people and children. One important point that looms big in the simmering discussion is whether the Supreme Court’s ruling can be put into effect.
It would take a lot of money and effort to move lakhs of stray canines to shelters that do not yet exist. Insufficient manpower, dogs’ territorial tendencies, and local opposition are some of the additional difficulties municipal organisations face when attempting to do fundamental duties like cleaning neighbourhoods and unclogging sewers.
How the government of Delhi intends to get rid of stray dogs
According to Mayor Singh, strays will be removed from Delhi in stages, with the first phase concentrating on rabies-infected and aggressive dogs. “MCD has 20 shelter houses in operation. We will select canines that are rabies-infected or have a history of biting during the first phase. We’ll talk about other stray dogs later. NGOs will be involved in all of this. We’re going to start a hotline shortly,” he stated.
In order to establish dog-free zones and expand the sterilisation project, the mayor further mentioned that a meeting with all agencies in Delhi-NCR is now underway. “CM Rekha Gupta considers the benefit of the people and never turns down a proposal. “The dogs will be treated like pets in shelter homes,” he told ANI.
The Issue of Stray Dogs
According to a PTI article that cited government statistics, Delhi has registered 26,000 dog bite instances so far this year. Up to July 31 of this year, 49 rabies cases were registered in the nation’s capital, and between January and June, more than 65,000 stray dogs had vaccinations and sterilisations.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court bench consisting of Justices JD Pardiwala and R Mahadevan said that their decision was in the public interest. “This is for the benefit of the public, not for ourselves. Therefore, no feelings of any kind should be expressed. The earliest possible action should be taken. Will all these animal advocates be able to salvage the lives of rabies victims? “We must completely eradicate stray dogs from the streets,” the bench stated.
Expert says it’s Mission Impossible
Here are the key reasons why the decision of supreme court to put every stray dogs of Delhi NCR away from Human civilization is critised and won’t work at all:
- No permanent animal shelter: Delhi has no dedicated long term animal Shelters. Everything is temporary and nothing permanent. Existing animal birth control (ABC) are temporary and limited. Those are only capable of keeping only around 3000 to 4000 dogs at a time. The city has a population of more than a million.
- Unknown dog population: The Last dog census was done in 2008 estimating 560,000. No recent data to help in planning the relocation.
- No Funding: Feeding just 40 rupees per dog per day would cost around 3 crore daily. Over 1000 crore annually, excluding transportation and any other medical costs.
- High infrastructure cost: Delhi doesn’t have enough funds to create permanent shelters for dogs away from human settlement.
- Legal issues: Current ABC rules 2023 states that sterilised community dogs have to be released back, not permanently confined. This makes the order legally problematic.
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