Day after the Supreme Court ordered that all the stray dogs in Delhi and the national capital region should be sterlised and transferred to shelter homes, several top celebrities have come out in support of the canines. The top court in its order said that the local authorities must ensure that these dogs do not leave the shelters, and gave 8-week time to implement the order in the suo moto case.
Now, noted actor John Abraham has reportedly written a letter the the Chief Justice of India, BR Gavai, urged him to reconsider the verdict, which he termed “impractical” and “inhumane”, reported NDTV.
The strongly-worded letter stated that these dogs are not strays but “ very much Delhiites in their own right”.
“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,” John, who was most recently seen in film The Diplomat, said in his letter, the report added.
He also cited a report of the World Health Organisation and the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Dog Rules, 2023, which states that dogs should be sterilised, vaccinated and returned to their home areas, to support his argument.
“As someone who has worked in animal protection for decades, I wish to respectfully point out that this directive directly conflicts with the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Rules, 2023, formerly the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001 and the Supreme Court’s own judgements on the issue which have consistently upheld a methodical sterilisation programme, as recommended by World Health Organisation in 1990, as the only effective and scientific solution to address the community dog population. The ABC Rules prohibit the displacement of dogs, instead mandating their sterilisation, vaccination, and return to the very areas they inhabit,” the actor wrote.
He requested the CJI to look at the case through “compassion, science-based solutions and compliance with Indian law” to safeguard animals. He also stated that suddenly displacing Delhi’s estimated 19 lakh community dogs would worsen public health risks
‘Death sentence for all dogs’: Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Dhawan on SC order
Apart from John, actors including Janhvi Kapoor Varun Dhawan have also reacted to the apex court’s order. Taking to the Instagram Stories, both Janhvi and Varun re-shared a post that called the verdict a “death sentence for all dogs”.
According to a report in PTI, the post described how the animals would lose their “sunlight”, “freedom”, and familiar surroundings if kept away in shelters.
“They call it a menace. We call it a heartbeat. Today, the Supreme Court says take every stray dog off the streets of Delhi-NCR and lock them away. No sunlight. No freedom. No familiar faces they greet every morning. But these aren’t just “stray dogs.” They are the ones who wait outside your tea stall for a biscuit. They are the silent night guards for shopkeepers. They are the tails wagging when children return from school. They are the warmth in a cold, uncaring city. Yes, there are problems bites, safety concerns-but caging an entire community of animals is not a solution; it’s an erasure,” read a part of the post.
What the SC said on stray dogs in Delhi-NCR
A Supreme Court bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan on Monday said that all localities should be made free of stray dogs and there should not be any compromise. It also said that the local authorities should ensure that no captured animal will be released back on the streets.
“If any individual or organisation comes in the way of picking stray dogs or rounding them up, we will proceed to take action against any such resistance,” said Justice Pardiwala. The bench asked the states and municipal authorities to create dog shelters with sufficient staff to sterilise and immunise them.
“NCT Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad, MCD, and NMDC shall start picking up stray dogs from all localities, particularly from more vulnerable localities. It is for the authorities to look into, and if they have to create a force, do it at the earliest. However, this should be the first and foremost exercise to make all localities free of stray dogs. There should not be any compromise in undertaking the exercise,” said the bench.
The court also directed that authorities in Delhi-NCR to set up a helpline so all dog bite complaints can be registered, with the offending animal picked up within four hours of a complaint.
(With agency inputs)