"Rahul Gandhi Expresses Strong Disapproval: Stray Dog Relocation Order by SC Criticised as Heartless and Myopic"
In a recent turn of events, animal rights groups and activists are strongly opposing the Supreme Court's directive ordering the removal of stray dogs from Delhi-NCR and their relocation to shelters without release back into public spaces.
Following the Supreme Court’s August 11, 2025 directive, several animal lovers, activists, and protesters were detained near India Gate in Delhi while demonstrating against the removal order.
Groups such as PETA India have criticized the order as "impractical, illogical, and illegal." They argue that the order contradicts the Animal Welfare Board of India’s 2022 advisory against relocation and advocate for humane management through sterilisation, vaccination, and community care rather than mass removal.
Politicians like Rahul Gandhi have publicly criticized the ruling as harsh and lacking compassion, emphasizing that sterilisation, vaccination, and community care can ensure public safety without cruelty. Rahul Gandhi described the mass removals as stripping society of compassion and called for coexistence solutions.
The August 2025 Supreme Court order conflicts with earlier Court rulings and the Animal Welfare Board of India’s advisory, which emphasizes implementing Animal Birth Control (ABC) and anti-rabies programs rather than relocating dogs. The case has been shifted from a two-judge to a three-judge Supreme Court bench due to the controversy.
The Supreme Court's order instructed the Delhi government, MCD, and NDMC to start picking up stray dogs from all localities at the earliest. The Court also emphasized the need to make "all localities free of stray dogs." However, the order allows for the creation of a force to execute the task, if necessary.
To ensure the welfare of the dogs in the shelters, CCTV monitoring will be implemented, and the shelters are to be staffed for sterilization and immunization.
The outrage has also spread across social media, with many expressing their disapproval of the order and supporting the calls for humane, non-relocation based approaches to stray dog population management.
As the situation unfolds, it is clear that animal rights advocates and related stakeholders demand a humane, non-relocation based approach to stray dog population management, prioritizing sterilisation, vaccination, and sheltering while opposing forced removal and relocation, which they see as cruel and counterproductive.
- Despite the intensifying controversy, the Supreme Court's order in India, dated August 11, 2025, mandates the removal and relocation of stray dogs from public spaces, contradicting earlier court rulings and the Animal Welfare Board of India's advisory.
- Amidst the growing public disapproval on social media and criticisms from politicians like Rahul Gandhi, animal rights groups in India, such as PETA, reject the order, advocating for a humane approach focusing on sterilization, vaccination, and community care, rather than forced removal.
