{"id":51116,"date":"2025-08-12T20:35:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T15:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=51116"},"modified":"2025-08-12T20:35:41","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T15:05:41","slug":"sc-ruling-on-stray-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-08-2025\/sc-ruling-on-stray-dogs","title":{"rendered":"SC Ruling On Stray Dogs\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Social Issues; Governance; GS4\/Ethics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recently, the Supreme Court of India directed the Delhi government and authorities of Noida, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad to capture and relocate stray dogs to shelters, calling the situation \u2018grim\u2019.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It stressed that \u2018infants and young children, at any cost, should not fall prey to rabies\u2019.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Stray Dog Problem in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is home to over 60 million stray dogs, accounting for 37% of the global stray dog population. Dog bites occur every 10 seconds in India, totaling over 3 million annually.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rabies claims two lives every three hours, making <strong>India the global epicenter for rabies-related deaths.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Infants and elderly citizens are increasingly vulnerable, with fatal attacks reported in <strong>Delhi, Telangana, and Punjab.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stray dogs contribute significant <strong>health hazards.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Even the rabies elimination goal (by 2030) is unattainable without effective stray control.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Root Causes: A Complex Web<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Pet Owner: <\/strong>Pet ownership is rising rapidly, with 30 million pet dogs recorded in 2024 and is growing at 10\u201315% annually.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A significant portion of the problem stems from irresponsible pet ownership like abandonment of pets, unneutered pets, and lack of identification.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Issue of Proxy Petting: <\/strong>Feeding strays on streets\u2014often by well-meaning citizens\u2014makes dogs territorial and aggressive.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It mirrors the issue seen with monkeys in urban India, emboldening animals and increasing attacks on non-feeders.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Municipal laws mandate sterilization and sheltering, but implementation is <strong>patchy and underfunded.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Earlier Attempts to Control Stray Populations<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lethal Measures: <\/strong>Past methods like electrocution, poisoning, shooting\u2014proved both inhumane and ineffective.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reduced competition for food led to increased breeding among survivors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sterilisation Drives: <\/strong>The <strong>Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme<\/strong>, introduced in 1992 and formalised in 2001, requires sterilising at least two-thirds of a canine population in a short window to work.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>No Indian city has consistently met this target, and pet dogs breeding with strays undo much of the progress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legal and Ethical Dilemmas<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Protection for Feeders:<\/strong> Citizens feeding stray dogs are protected under <strong>Article 51A(g) of the Constitution,<\/strong> which encourages compassion for living creatures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s legal frameworks: Like <strong>Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act (1960),<\/strong><strong>Animal Birth Control (ABC) (2001, updated in 2023), and Municipal Acts<\/strong> aim to balance animal welfare with public safety. However, contradictions persist:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Municipalities are restricted from euthanizing strays unless they are mortally ill.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stray dogs are <strong>now legally recognized as \u2018community animals\u2019,<\/strong> complicating removal efforts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Right to Life vs. Right to Safety: <\/strong>The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that stray dogs have a right to live, cautioning against indiscriminate culling. It raises difficult questions, like:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Can the right to life of stray animals override the right to safe public spaces, especially for children and the elderly?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Is it ethical to allow animals to suffer homelessness and disease on the streets in the name of compassion?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Toward Humane and Balanced Solutions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Mandatory pet registration, microchipping and sterilization to prevent abandonment and uncontrolled breeding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Designated feeding zones and shelters to reduce territorial aggression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Public awareness campaigns to educate citizens on dog behavior and responsible interaction.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Instilling empathy and responsibility in young citizens can create a more humane future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accountability for pet owners and feeders, ensuring they contribute to safety and welfare.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Task Force<\/strong> to coordinate efforts across states, as proposed by MP Karti Chidambaram.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/stray-dog-problem-solution-sc-pet-owners-debate-10183192\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source: IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Recently, the Supreme Court of India directed the Delhi government and authorities of Noida, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad to capture and relocate stray dogs to shelters, calling the situation \u2018grim\u2019.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Stray Dog Problem in India<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">India is home to over 60 million stray dogs, accounting for 37% of the global stray dog population. Dog bites occur every 10 seconds in India, totaling over 3 million annually.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Rabies claims two lives every three hours, making India the global epicenter for rabies-related deaths.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Infants and elderly citizens are increasingly vulnerable, with fatal attacks reported in Delhi, Telangana, and Punjab.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Stray dogs contribute significant health hazards.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/12-08-2025\/sc-ruling-on-stray-dogs\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":51151,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sc-ruling-on-stray-dogs.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51116","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51116"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51162,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51116\/revisions\/51162"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}