A War On Delhi Strays

On August 11, the Supreme Court ignited a heated debate with a blanket suo motu order that all stray dogs in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) be removed and rehabilitated in permanent shelters. Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said the condition concerning dog bites is “extremely grim” and that children must not fall prey to rabies. A three-judge bench is now scheduled to take up the matter

- Text by AVISHEK G. DASTIDAR

THE SC ORDER

Civic bodies to ready shelters, pick up 5,000 dogs in Delhi-NCR in 6-8 weeks

Each shelter to house 5,000-6,000 dogs, have CCTV cameras, sterilisation facilities, trained staff

No release of dogs into public spaces, nullifying provisions of the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2001, that mandates release of dogs to their localities after sterilisation and immunisation

"Absurd, unreasonable", judges call the ABC rule. "Why should that stray dog come back to that locality... for what?"

How does the world do it?UNITED STATES

Animal control agencies and shelters/rescue groups follow no-kill protocols, spay/neuter campaigns. Nationwide vaccination laws have nearly wiped out canine rabies