Delhi govt assures it will address street dog issue with empathy amid protests

New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court directed Delhi-NCR authorities to relocate all stray dogs to shelters, the city government on Tuesday said it will address the issue with "compassion and empathy", even as animal rights activists hit the streets against the directive.

Several politicians and celebrities, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, actors Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan, and filmmaker Siddharth Anand have expressed their disapproval of the order.

While the Delhi government said it would seek suggestions from stakeholders before framing a detailed plan to relocate street dogs, officials noted the civic bodies will start the process of implementing the apex court's order in a phased manner after Independence Day.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the relocation strategy. "We will have to look into our resources available and also allocate a budget for the campaign. We will plan a detailed campaign and take action accordingly," an NDMC official told PTI.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the Supreme Court directive was a step back from decades of humane, science-backed policy, and stressed that "blanket removals are cruel, shortsighted, and strip us of compassion".

Former Lok Sabha MP Varun Gandhi termed the SC directive "institutionalisation of cruelty" and said that "nations face deeper moral crises when they step away from empathy".

His mother, Maneka Gandhi, animal rights activist and former Union minister, on Monday called the SC directive "impractical", "financially unviable" and "potentially harmful" to the region's ecological balance.

On Tuesday, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) vehicles were seen picking up stray dogs from several locations. However, officials clarified that this was not related to the court order, but part of usual Independence Day preparations and the dogs will be released after the celebrations.

Animal lovers and caregivers from across the national capital staged a protest against the apex court's order on Tuesday, saying the move would harm street dogs and disrupt the bond they share with communities.

The protest, held at Connaught Place, saw participants holding placards that read "Beware: Kaal Bhairav is watching" and "Stop relocation, we stand in solidarity against the SC verdict". Many displayed a picture of Lord Shiva with a dog seated beside him, symbolising the cultural and spiritual connection between humans and animals.

Some were in tears, urging authorities to "please let them be free, they are like small kids." About 15 animal rights activists were detained by the police and taken to a nearby police station. During the protest, there was also a scuffle between animal lovers and police personnel.

Protesters argued that dogs should not be confined to shelters, pointing out that people often feed them only on specific religious occasions when priests advise it.

The top court on Monday directed all the strays to be removed and put in shelters by the Delhi government and civic bodies of Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan noted that there was an "extremely grim" situation due to stray dog bites resulting in rabies, particularly among children.

Delhi Development Minister Kapil Mishra, whose animal husbandry department will supervise the implementation of the SC order in the city, said the BJP government will address the stray dog issue with "compassion and empathy".

"We will hold a review meeting with different stakeholder departments in a couple of days. The Supreme Court has given a detailed order listing out various directions like making a helpline and shelter homes, among.

"It is a long-term exercise, and we do not want to get into it unprepared. We will properly do our research for two weeks and then start putting our plans into place," Mishra told PTI.

A senior official said the Delhi government has already started informal interactions with animal welfare bodies and activists to seek their suggestions.

"Before the Supreme Court order, the government was holding meetings to formalise a policy, but the apex court's directions have provided an outline of steps that need to be taken," he said.

An MCD official said that work on the process of relocating street dogs will begin only after next week. Another senior civic official confirmed that it will start after August 15.

"Till that time, no major work will take place because this process requires detailed planning. It has to be done in a phased manner, not in a day," the official added.

According to official data from the MCD, around 10,000 sterilisation and immunisation procedures for stray dogs are carried out on average each month. Thirteen NGOs are currently operating at 20 animal birth control centres in the city.

No new proposals have been finalised yet, officials said.

Some animal birth control centres in the city reported a surge in calls requesting rescue of stray dogs as well as reporting people abandoning their pet canines, while others said the situation remains unchanged.

Ayesha Christine Benn from Neighbourhood Woof, an animal birth control centre, told PTI that they had been asked not to return dogs brought in for sterilisation to their original locations.

Meanwhile, Krishna Devi, whose six-year-old niece Chhavi Sharma died after a stray dog attack in June, said, "We don't want even our enemies to go through what we underwent. With the Supreme Court's decision, we believe that our child's death has not gone in vain." "I feel that my child is the change. I hope there are no more Chhavis who are hurt elsewhere. Nobody should go through the cruel fate we underwent," Chhavi's aunt Devi told PTI.