'Inhumane, death sentence': Celebrities react to SC order on street dogs

New Delhi: Celebrities Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, and Siddharth Anand, among others, have expressed their disapproval of the latest directive by the Supreme Court for mass confinement of street dogs in Delhi.

The apex court on Monday ordered the Delhi government and civic bodies to start picking up strays from all localities and keep them in shelters, warning of strict action against anyone obstructing it.

Many celebrities expressed their disappointment with the order on social media.

Kapoor and Dhawan reshared a note on their respective Instagram.

"They call it a menace. We call it a heartbeat. Today, the Supreme Court says - take away every stray dog off the streets of Delhi-NCR and lock them away. No sunlight. No freedom. No familiar faces they greet every morning," the note read.

"Yes, there are problems - bites, safety concerns - but caging an entire community of animals is not a solution, it's an erasure. The real fix? Large-scale sterilization programs, regular vaccination drives, community feeding zones, and adoption campaigns. Not punishment. Not imprisonment. A society that can't protect its voiceless is a society losing its soul. Today it's the dogs. Tomorrow... who will it be? Raise your voice. Because they don't have one," it added.

Pathaan director Anand said the action against stray dogs is akin to a "genocide".

"There’s just no compassion left. Who will look after their food there? At least on the streets, there are some empathetic humans still who feed these poor, voiceless souls. They will die of hunger and thirst there, and that’s the death warrant the SC has signed. Please, someone start a petition, and let’s stop this genocide. I’m with you," he wrote.

Comedian-actor Vir Das urged people to adopt street dogs. He penned a lengthy note in his Instagram post, adding the pictures of his pet dogs he adopted earlier.

"If you are a resident of Delhi. Can I persuade you to adopt an indie off the streets, more than one? They are extremely healthy, low maintenance, and will provide you with more love affection and gratitude than you could ever imagine," he wrote.

"Am also asking you to wholeheartedly and generously support your nearest animal welfare NGO. I plan on doing so, I hope you will too. As appeals are filed in court and processes take their time, it's important for our humanity to kick in immediately. Please do your part, big or small, it all adds up," he wrote.

Actor Varun Grover said he hopes that animal activists and authorities come to a collective solution.

"Stray dog problem is real. And it’s a problem created by humans who hate dogs not by those who love dogs. Stray dog sterilisation efforts by individuals and NGOs have been constantly blocked by societies by calling them dog-feeders. And now when their own blocking tactics made the problem huge, they are saying the only solution is to transport the dogs to ‘shelters’ that don’t exist in the first place," his post on X read.

"We all know what that means. Rabies cases are a huge failure of the system and the solution can’t be the forced starvation or trauma to the animals. Hope the animal activists and authorities sit together and find humane solutions." Singer Chinmayi Sripaada said it's a "death sentence" for the dogs.

"I am reading this as a death sentence for all dogs. People dump Huskies and Labs, and German Shepherds once they are done breeding them to death, in India. Shelters indeed," she wrote on X.

Actor John Abraham wrote a letter to Chief Justice B R Gavai, urging a review and modification of the directive.

"I hope you will agree that these are not 'strays' but community dogs - respected and loved by many, and very much Delhiites in their own right, having lived in the region as neighbours to humans for generations," Abraham said.

The actor stated that the directive is in conflict with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, and the apex court's past judgements on the issue which have consistently "upheld a methodical sterilisation programme".

Telugu actor Adivi Sesh also penned a letter to the CJI and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, urging them to reconsider the directive.

Actor Bhumi Pednekar shared a photo of a street dog and wrote, "We don't deserve them." Ananya Panday repost a statement by Dogs of India that said "street dogs are not a problem, they are victims." "A city's soul isn't just in its people... it's in the way it treats its voiceless too," read a post by actor Siddhant Chaturvedi.

Filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane said the SC's decision was "absolutely absurd".

"What shelters? Who's making them? Who's taking care of the dogs there? Who's feeding them? What happens to the dogs after that? This is ridiculous!" he posted on his Instagram Stories.

Actor Vijay Varma posted, "Where are these far off places and who's gonna feed and tend these dogs?" Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar shared a quote by Mahatma Gandhi -- "The Greatness of a Nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated".

In the caption, she wrote, "We need another solution. A humane solution." "Eradicating animals and imprisoning them isn't the solution. This can become a death sentence for dogs and it's inhumane," said actor Shefali Shah.

In their judgement, 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.

The court has directed Delhi authorities to start with creating shelters for around 5,000 canines within six to eight weeks.