During Stray Dogs Hearing, Supreme Court's 'Cats And Rats' Quip

The Supreme Court said that it has not directed for every dog to be removed from the streets, adding that they should be treated according to rules.

A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and NV Anjaria continued hearing the suo motu case on stray dog management in public spaces on Thursday, with lawyers representing all parties involved - dog lovers, victims of dog bites, and animal rights activists - presenting their arguments.

Senior Advocate CU Singh, representing animal welfare groups, stated that dogs maintain a balance in Delhi, which also faces a threat from rats and monkeys. "What happens when dogs are suddenly removed? The rat population increases, they are disease carriers," he argued. He sought that dogs be regulated in a manner that has proven effective, like sterilisation and releasing back in the same area.

Questioning the likelihood of a connection between the population of dogs, rats and monkeys, Justice Mehta struck a light vein. "Dogs and cats are enemies. We should encourage more cats because they are enemies of rats," he said.

When Justice Mehta asked about the presence of dogs in hospital, Singh responded, "JNU is spread over 1,000 acres, DU is approximately 70-80 acres and railways have open boundaries. Dogs will come in. What has worked is the ABC (Animal Birth Control) rule, when properly implemented. We have pointed out that when dogs are kept in large numbers in shelters, in crowded environments, it leads to the spread of other diseases." The Court noted that despite the ABC rules and court orders, there have been violations in a large number of states.

Senior Advocate Krishnan Venugopal, appearing for a leading expert on animal rights, flagged the lack of budgetary allocation for implementing ABC rules. "If there is one AB center in every district, it will cost Rs 1,600 crore. Five ministries of the Central government should be involved. Currently, only 66 ABC centers are recognised, while there are 5.2 crore dogs across the country. There is also a manpower problem, we need to train a specialized force. To control the population, we need to scale this up significantly," he said.

Venugopal also flagged the need to train veterinarians to conduct large scale dog sterilisations, raising concern about the lack of centres for the same.

BJP leader Vijay Goel's lawyer said the ABC rules were created to systematically reduce the dog population, while also highlighting that the definition of a violent dog is not clear. He cited an incident from Delhi's Rana Pratap Bagh, where a dog was taken away after it bit a seven-year-old child. On being released after a week, the dog bit a 78-year-old man and then another 70-year-old man. He said that a helpline they run for people affected by dog bites have received  more than 20,000 complaints

On Wednesday, the top court expressed concern over the alarming rise in dog bite incidents across the country and the failure of municipal authorities and local bodies to effectively implement the ABC Rules. The Bench had observed that lives were being lost due to continued inaction, adding that the presence of stray animals on roads is also a major cause of accidents.