Following animal rights protests, India’s Supreme Court has revised its ruling, which now states that animals picked up from the streets of Delhi shall be released following sterilisation and vaccination, with the exception of rabies-infected and aggressive dogs.
The Court added that the revised ruling applies throughout India.
It also banned public feeding of dogs and urged the establishment of designated feeding areas for stray dogs.
A three-judge panel of the court stated that it would soon create a uniform policy to be applicable nationwide.
Animal rights activists earlier this month objected to the initial ruling with several politicians and celebrities also criticising the court’s decision.
“Rounding up all dogs was just not a practical solution to this issue that we are facing in Delhi. It was a death sentence for the dogs,” said Sadhwi Sondhi, the founder of Red Paws Rescue in New Delhi.
Indian animal rights advocates rejoice
Animal rights groups and advocates are celebrating the modification of the Supreme Court order.
“They say every dog has her day, and today is the day (for India’s) community dogs.”
“The decision shows the majority think of community dogs as beloved neighbours and friends.”
“Now, with a renewed focus on sterilisation and vaccination, the rest of India can move closer to the day that no dogs are left to suffer hunger, accidents and cruelty on the roads,” said animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India.
“On behalf of the community dogs we serve, we thank the three-judge bench for its decision,” PETA said.
Humane World for Animals India director Alokparna Sengupta also hailed the new ruling as “balanced, structured and compassionate.”
However, she stated that in order to prevent the court’s decision from being abused to capture stray dogs without cause or out of personal bias, it is still necessary to develop a clear criteria to designate “aggressive dogs.”
This was also echoed by former federal minister and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi, adding that the classification for an “aggressive dog” remains a grey area.
“Blanket removals are cruel, shortsighted, and strip us of compassion,” said Congress party leader and leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi in a post on X.
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Supreme Court’s initial ruling
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ordered that stray dogs be moved to shelters after reports showing an increase in dog attacks and rabies cases.
The order instructed officials to build shelters in two months to relocate hundreds of thousands of stray dogs.
The order cited the case of 6-year-old Chavi Sharma, who was killed by a dog attack during her first week of school, as its basis.
The child’s family filed a police report against municipal authorities responsible for stray dog management.
According to government data released in April, there were around 430,000 recorded cases of dog bites in January.
Last year, there were 3.7 million recorded cases of dog bites.
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