Advocating compassion for stray canines and human lives alike, the Supreme Court on Wednesday directed that till the issue of killing of strays is decided in March next year, no High Court shall issue any orders either for their elimination or control. At the same time, though, it directed all municipal authorities to ensure that unwanted, diseased and rabid dogs are eliminated as per rules, while healthy stray dogs are provided necessary shelters and kennels to reside in.
The need for passing such an order became essential after three HCs, Kerala (2006), Maharashtra (2009) and Karnataka (2013) allowed culling of stray dogs, forcing the Animal Welfare Board and several NGOs to approach the apex court. On the other hand, Delhi HC recently issued orders asking municipal authorities not to remove stray dogs from parks.
Working out a middle path for the present, the Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and SK Singh restrained all HCs from passing any order on the subject of dogs. It declared that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and the Animal Birth Control Rules 2001 will prevail over any State Act such as Kerala Municipality Act, 1994 and Bombay Municipal Corporation Act, 1888 which gave discretion to municipalities to eliminate stray dogs.
“There can be no trace of doubt that there has to be compassion for dogs and they should not be killed in an indiscriminate manner, but indubitably the lives of the human beings are to be saved and one should not suffer due to dog bite because of administrative lapse,” said the Bench.
The Act required municipal corporations to provide sufficient number of dog pounds, including animal kennels, shelters managed by animal welfare organisations, besides providing dog vans with ramps for their capture and transportation for purposes of sterilisation and immunisation and incinerators for disposal of carcasses.
The court directed the municipal corporations to file affidavit giving details of infrastructure provided under these heads. It reminded the Animal Welfare Board its duty under the Act “to ensure that unwanted animals are destroyed by local authorities, wherever it is necessary to do so, either instantaneously or after being rendered insensible to pain of suffering.”
“Once that is done, we are disposed to think for the present that a balance between compassion to dogs and the lives of human being, which is appositely called a glorious gift of nature, may harmoniously co-exist,” the bench added.
The bench was confronted with an article by Mahatma Gandhi compiled by amicus curiae Dushyant Dave where the Father of Nation advocated that stray dogs will be killed whenever they turn a menace to the society. The court allowed both sides to file separate affidavits indicating number of dog bites as also steps taken by municipalities to remove or destruct unwanted or rabid canines.