Big Supreme Court on Stray Dogs
Big Supreme Court Win For Dog Lovers, Strays To Be Sterilised, Released
Key dates & benches
- Aug 11, 2025: 2-judge bench (Justices J.B. Pardiwala & R. Mahadevan) orders capture & sheltering of all Delhi-NCR strays; no release.
- Aug 14, 2025: 3-judge bench (Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, N.V. Anjaria) hears challenges; reserves order.
- Aug 22, 2025: Same 3-judge bench modifies the order: release after sterilisation & immunisation, with exceptions; no public feeding, designated feeding points.
Implementation Challenges
- Scale & Logistics:
Delhi-NCR's stray dog population is estimated at 3-5 lakh. Capturing, sheltering, and feeding them in 8 weeks is a monumental task.
- Financial Burden:
Shelter construction, staffing, veterinary care, and maintenance could run into hundreds of crores annually.
- Legal Conflicts:
ABC Rules were framed under central law; states/municipalities may argue the SC order conflicts with them unless amended.
Reaction to the Ruling
Animal Welfare Groups
- PETA India, FIAPO, and others strongly opposed:
- Calling it unscientific: They argue that relocation breaks the "territorial stability" principle - when territory is vacated, new unsterilized dogs move in.
- Fearing mass dog deaths if shelters get overcrowded.
- Stating it will waste decades of CNVR efforts.
Public Safety Advocates
- Resident groups and parents of bite victims welcomed the order as a long-overdue safety measure.
What exactly did the Supreme Court say today (Aug 22, 2025)?
- A special three-judge bench (Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and N.V. Anjaria) modified its earlier August 11 direction. Dogs that are picked up must be released back into the same area after sterilisation and anti-rabies immunisation. Two carve-outs: dogs with rabies or displaying aggressive behaviour are not to be released and may remain in shelters. The Court also indicated no feeding on public streets, and told civic bodies to create designated feeding points in each ward.
- The modification aligns with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, which require that community dogs, once sterilised and vaccinated, be released back to the same locality they were captured from. (This is often called CNVR/TNVR.)
So what stays, what goes (compared to Aug 11)?
No longer in force as a blanket rule: Permanent, across-the-board relocation of all strays to shelters. They can't be warehoused indefinitely after capture (except rabid/aggressive animals).
Still central to the plan:
- Sterilisation + anti-rabies vaccination before release.
- Shelters remain relevant as temporary holding during ABC procedures and for exceptions (rabid/aggressive animals).
- Curbing ad-hoc feeding on streets and creating municipality-approved feeding points to reduce conflict and littering.
How does this fit into existing law & policy?
- ABC Rules, 2023 (under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act) lay down that community dogs should be caught, sterilised, vaccinated, ear-notched/tagged, and released back to the same location. Today's order explicitly puts Delhi-NCR back on that statutory track.
- The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) has separately asked local bodies to notify feeding spots, coordinate with RWAs, and run humane ABC drives an approach mirrored in today's directions.
Practical implications (who must do what)
Municipal bodies (MCD, NDMC, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad):
- Run/scale ABC (sterilisation + vaccination) drives ward-wise; release dogs back locally with visible marking (ear-notch/tag).
- Identify and signpost feeding points; stop street-corner feeding that causes nuisance.
- Maintain records of sterilisation and vaccination; keep shelter capacity for rabid/aggressive cases.
RWAs & feeders/NGOs:
- Shift feeding to designated points and comply with time/cleanliness norms the municipality prescribes.
- Do not obstruct capture/ABC activities; coordinate with civic vets/contractors. (Earlier orders warned of action for obstruction, and today's posture continues to prioritise orderly implementation.)
Residents & public health:
- The modified approach aims to reduce bites via herd immunity (mass vaccination) and stabilise populations (sterilisation), which studies and India's own rules back. Rabid/aggressive animals are kept off the streets.
Scope beyond Delhi-NCR
During today's pronouncement, reporting from the courtroom indicated the bench is treating stray dog management as a pan-India issue, issuing notice to all States/UTs, and indicating transfer/coordination of similar HC cases so directions don't conflict. Expect further case-management orders as the Court frames uniform guidance. (We'll know the exact contours once the written order is uploaded.)
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