Banished without even being heard?

The news about the recent Supreme Court judgement on street animals came as a shock and surprise to many.

- ANJALI MEHTA

The judgement basically pronounces that street dogs be removed completely from the streets of Delhi and sent permanently to supervised shelters in the outskirts in a time-bound manner.

Though the judgement stems from a pure-hearted intent to protect children from fatal diseases like rabies contracted from dog bites, the solution offered is harsh and can adversely affect the welfare of other groups in the city. Just as our children deserve safety and protection, so do the species we cohabit with. The judgement is tantamount to playing God as it literally removes an entire subspecies from its natural habitat. It goes against the friendly vibe of 'the world is one family' if we cannot try to coexist peacefully with street dogs (with the many useful checks and balances already in place).

The oft-exchanged reverent blessing of 'Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah' (may all beings be happy) starts sounding hollow when not practised on the ground.

Other aspects of the judgement are disquieting as well.

To begin with, the two judges who gave the ruling made it clear that they will confine themselves only to taking the views of the government representatives. The government, as recently as 2023, notified a set of rules called the Animal Birth Control (ABC) rules as an amendment to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960. These are based on international models (WHO) and were arrived at after extensive consultation with animal welfare organisations and studying court judgements on animal issues. The rules unambiguously specify that animals cannot be dislocated from their current habitats in the city.

However, in this recent court hearing, the government representatives themselves have opined that stray dogs should be removed and relocated to shelters. This complete volte-face undermines the hard work of all the animal welfare agencies that worked together to frame these rules and ignores important recommendations of seasoned animal experts.