India’s stray dog crisis
The Supreme Court recently tooksuomoto cognizance (on its own motion) of a news report published in the Times of India titled “City hounded by strays, kids pay price”. The report highlighted a disturbing incident in which a six-year-old girl succumbed to rabies after a dog bite. After examining the issue, it was found that on an average, nearly 10% of dog-bite cases are recorded in the Delhi NCR (National Capital Region), raising serious concerns about public safety, especially for children and senior citizens. A two-judge Bench comprising Justices J. B.Pardiwalaand R.Mahadevan directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD)Authorities to capture,sterilise, vaccinate, and relocate stray dogs to shelters.
However, in the aftermath of this order, animal lovers and dog owners strongly opposed the direction, arguing that relocation violates the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules and that dogs should be returned to their original localities aftersterilisation.
Over the course of the proceedings, the Supreme Court has examined multiple dynamics of the stray dog issue, including relocation, use of public spaces, and the role of institutions like schools, hospitals etc. The Court elucidated that public spaces belong to everyone, and no individual or group be it locals or animal feeders can claim exclusive control over them, simultaneouslyprioritisinghuman life and safety over animal compassion.
In the subsequent hearings, the Court also observed thatrelocalisationof stray dogs cannot be treated as a solution and should be reverted to only in exceptional circumstances, such as cases involving rabid dogs. The Benchemphasisedthat the primary responsibility lies with municipal bodies and local authorities, whose failure to implementsterilisationand vaccinationprogrammeshas aggravated the crisis.
Viewing through a comparative lens, the institutional gaps identified by supreme court makes more sense. If we look at United States’ records, rabies still exists but is primarily caused by bats, and human cases are now infrequent due to strong public-health measures. A dramatic decline has been observed, with only one to three cases reported per year since the 1960’s. In contrast, India continues to face a grim reality, where dog bites remain the primary cause of rabies transmission, accounting for nearly 96% of cases as per the report derived from Government of India health statistics and WHO-APCRI (Association for Prevention and Control of Rabies in India) estimates.
The supreme courts’s approach reflects an ongoing attempt to strike a balance between public safety and animal welfare, two concerns that should not be viewed as mutually exclusive. The stray dog problem is not merely about animals on the streets; it is systematic failure of public health governance and municipal administration.
While the Court has rightly avoided extreme measures and insisted on adherence to the ABC Rules, judicial intervention alone cannot resolve the issue, without the accountability of civic bodies, proper implementation ofsterilisationdrives, and sustained public awareness. Ultimately, the solution lies not in choosing between humans and animals, but in creating a framework where both can coexist safely.
Sharmeen Koussar Dalal is pursuing LLB at KU
